Objectives: This study examines how different lighting scenarios, involving variations in intensity and/or colour, influence safety perceptions on metro station platforms and in passages. Methods: Physical filters were applied to the station’s lighting to create different scenarios, which were compared to baseline conditions using MANOVA, correlation, and regression models. The experiment involved 92 participants—67 university students and 25 older individuals with visual impairments. After informed consent and a visual performance assessment, participants experienced each lighting condition in two sequences, including wash-outs. Results: “Safety” is associated with “comfort” and “pleasantness” and less with “colour” related emotional responses. On platforms, dimmed neutral lighting does not lower safety perceptions compared to the neutral baseline. In passages, the reduction in safety scores under treated lighting passages remains significant even after controlling for participants’ gender, crime exposure, disabilities, and test order. Participants with visual impairments consistently reported lower perceived safety, particularly in passages with reduced, coloured lighting. The study underscores the importance of inclusive lighting design and calls for further experimental CPTED research on minimum lighting thresholds, emphasising the need to disentangle the effects of colour from intensity when assessing lighting’s impact on safety.

Reducing light pollution and promoting sustainable lighting practices require new tools that integrate environmental, social, and technical considerations in design processes. Urban Digital Twins are emerging as powerful instruments for this purpose, enabling integrated evaluation of lighting impacts on both people and ecosystems. This paper presents an exploratory evaluation of NorDark-DT, a recently developed urban digital twin designed to support the sustainable planning of lighting infrastructure in green urban areas. This exploratory assessment was conducted with master’s students engaged in lighting design practices. Participants performed two task-oriented exercises of planning and comparing lighting configurations after-dark for a site in Uppsala, Sweden. Results show that NorDark-DT effectively facilitates the exploration of alternative lighting solutions within realistic green urban area contexts and encourages reflection on issues such as light pollution, biodiversity, and ecological preservation. Nevertheless, further improvements are required to enhance the user interface, expand analytical capabilities, strengthen integration with professional lighting software, and optimize performance for varying hardware setups. Beyond professional practice, the tool also proved valuable for educational purposes by promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and broadening students’ understanding of sustainability in lighting design. Overall, this study provides an initial step in a usability assessment of NorDark-DT, confirming its potential to support environmentally responsible, socially aware, and well-informed lighting interventions.

This study focuses on a workshop exploration based on participatory methods before lighting interventions at a primary school in east-central Sweden. This approach is based on participatory design (PD) principles, aiming to support teachers’ and pupils’ voices within educational research (ER), lighting design, and architecture disciplines. Two workshops are presented, one addressing teachers ( n = 5) and the other addressing pupils ( n = 33). The first workshop focused on lighting perception, while the second addressed pupils’ choices of space for certain learning activities. Results from teachers’ work revealed that higher light levels are evaluated more favorably for on-screen activities. Furthermore, shadow evaluation was the factor that varied the most when comparing the two lighting scenarios. Additionally, pupils’ preferred working location depended on their activity, and the proximity to daylight was higher for individual tasks than group discussions. Findings from both workshops were later implemented as design directions to inform a larger research project on school lighting interventions.