The purpose of the project is to advance our understanding of how lighting may support people's perception and appraisals after dark, thereby facilitating inclusion, social interaction, and social cohesion in public spaces after dark. Particular attention is given to women's experience of visual accessibility and perceived reassurance, their social interactions, and the potential relationship between these experiences and social cohesion.

The findings and conclusions may contribute to evidence-based guidelines for the planning and design of public spaces that are accessible, safe, inclusive and resilient, in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11.7.

The scientific contribution of the project lies in integrating environmental psychology, lighting research, urban sociology, and criminology in an interdisciplinary approach that advances theory and methodology for understanding the role of lighting in socially sustainable urban planning.

The project contributes to science and practice by:

1. Further developing a socio-physical theoretical framework (Hennig, 2025) that integrates theories from environmental psychology, lighting research, urban sociology, and criminology to advance understanding of the role of lighting in fostering inclusion and social cohesion.
2. Empirically investigating the relationships between lighting distribution, experiences of visual accessibility, perceived reassurance, and social interaction, with particular attention to women's experiences.