Every year, the Festival of Lights welcomes the “Rencontres de la Lumière” organised in collaboration with the LUCI Association (Lighting Urban Community International). These meetings provide a forum for discussions on the theme of urban lighting and the associated social and environmental issues. The 2009 edition will focus on light planning developments in various countries over the past 20 years and will question the social and economic sustainability of urban lighting.

9.00 a.m – 12.45 p.m.: From public image to public space: developments in lighting masterplans over the past 20 years

Since the 1980s, urban lighting and masterplanning have been the focus of attention    for urban communities.    Urban lighting has changed significantly, from an aesthetic vision to a vision more linked to city rythms, the habits of inhabitants, public space and social issues. The City of Lyon’s celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Lyon’s lighting masterplan is a fitting occasion to reflect on    its positive and negative aspects and to compare it to the masterplans of other cities in Europe and beyond, taking into consideration different cultural contexts and methodologies.

Speakers:
– Antoine Bouchet, Public Lighting Department, City of Lyon, and Michel Bouit, former Director of Public Lighting, City of Lyon
– France- Rong Haolei, Beijing Institute of Urban Planning and Design – China
– Jens Jacob Bierring, Architect, Urban Design Department, City of Copenhagen – Denmark
– Margherita Suss, GMS Studio associato, Milan – Italy

Moderator: Alexandre Colombani, Director of LUCI Association

2.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m.: Social and economic sustainability of lighting

For several years, technical and economic aspects of sustainability have greatly influenced lighting practices and    policies, while environmental, social and cultural    factors were generally dealt with in the context of thematic approaches.    Taking these    factors    into account in this way does not offer a sufficiently global approach and many issues are left unexplored. The ‘Rencontres de la Lumière’ do not claim to exhaustively examine sustainability issues but will, through the presentation of diverse case studies, demonstrate the value of taking the environmental, social and cultural dimensions of lighting into consideration.

Speakers:
– Horacio Valencia, Urban Lighting Architect, City of Medellin – Colombia
– Tim Edensor and Steve Millington, Senior Lecturers in Human Geography, University of Manchester – England
– Michael Moradiellos [ecosistema urbano], and Juan José Garcia, Light Engineer, Madrid – Spain
– Chanyaporn Chuntamara, Professor at the School of Architecture and Design, Thonburi, Bangkok – Thailand

Moderator: Jean-Michel Deleuil, Lecturer HDR, EDU-EVS, INSA of Lyon – France

Les Rencontres de la Lumière