Assessing Awareness of Urban Light Pollution among Architects

Pollution as a topic has captured most of the attention; air and water pollution seem to shine brighter than light pollution, especially in the fields of architecture and urban design. The working field of architecture and urban design is prospering due to the construction of various new cities and many new urban areas, which is a result of an ever-growing population especially in Cairo, Egypt. The aim of this study is to assess the level of awareness of architects of the growing problem of light pollution. A questionnaire was given to practicing designers to assess their knowledge of urban lighting pollution and strategic ways to mitigate it. Results show that practicing designers are moderately aware of the problem known as light pollution although the majority are not aware of some types of light pollution such as skyglow. This result is important in determining ways to raise the awareness of younger generation graduates and to devise better channels to motivate current practicing designers to use mitigating strategies in their designs.