Call for Poster

International Conference
The Bright Side of Night
– Perceptions, Costs and the Governance of Lighting and Light Pollution
June 20^th–21^th, 2013 Erkner by Berlin, Germany
Call for Posters
Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS, Erkner, Germany)
Department of Urban and Regional Planning – Technische Universität Berlin (ISR‐TUB, Berlin, Germany)

The introduction of public and private lighting systems in the late 19th and early 20th century contributed to a profound and ongoing change in the socio‐economic, cultural and physical realities of modern cities. Working and living routines no longer had to be aligned with the natural rhythm of day and night, resulting in a dramatic increase in the night‐time production of goods as well as in the emergence of a bustling nightlife. As a result, the perception and use of urban public space at night has changed fundamentally.

During the two‐day conference focusing on the humanities and the social sciences, various aspects and research approaches concerning lighting and light pollution will be explored and discussed (research fields will include history, literature and arts, geography, urban planning, politics and economics).

We particularly encourage junior researchers (postgraduates and postdocs) from the humanities and social sciences to contribute a poster to the conference. The posters will bediscussed between the panels to complement the presentations of the invited speakers.

We welcome contributions that address one or more of the following topics referring to pastor present:

• Symbolism and perceptions of artificial lighting or darkness
• Infrastructural provision of artificial lighting
• Social uses and functions of illumination and the production and sense of place
• Artificial lighting and environmental sustainability
• Light planning practices- Governance of artificial lighting and darkness
• Conflicts concerning artificial lighting
• Methods to evaluate perceptions and costs of artificial lighting, light pollution ordarkness

The conference marks the completion of a 3‐year interdisciplinary research project on the causes and consequences of artificial outdoor lighting entitled ‘Loss of the Night’.

Please submit your abstract of approx. 200 words by December 15, 2012 to:
For history and the arts: Ute Hasenöhrl (hasenoehrl@irs‐net.de)
For the social sciences: Katharina Krause (krausek@irs‐net.de)

Please don’t hesitate to contact us in case you have any further questions.
Further Conference Information here (PDF)