Public Lighting in Urban Areas and the Presence of Women (Case Study: Tehran Saei Park)

Women account for half of the world population while due to their special physical and mental characteristics, they are considered as vulnerable group in society. In this regard, “Fukuyama” outlines the reasons that indicate vulnerability of women compared with men (Fukoyama, 2000, p. 79). Women also count as vulnerable group against the insecurities. The needs of all citizens, especially women are not considered in designing and planning of public spaces, so the use of women from public urban area and their active participation are much less than men. Different genders inevitably make difference needs and subsequently behaviors led to the creation of various activities which need their especial frameworks. Therefore, the urban spaces should be tailored to the needs of women and their safety. Among all citizens, the presence of women and their public participation in urban areas and also the establishment of normal social interaction are more ignored. However, the continued dynamic presence of such groups in urban public areas guarantees their stability. In the other side, one of the major application areas in cities is parks and green spaces. Urban green spaces typically are one of urban land surfaces covered by manmade vegetation with ecological and social efficiency. Parks as public recreation areas always include active participation of people because they are mainly low-cost locations and available for fun, social interaction and conserving the cities’ identity. Thus, improving the quality of the public spaces through the lighting is causing citizens’ presence. Lighting, in all hours of the day and night, is critical for urban spaces. Today, urban lighting performs to strengthen the functions of urban spaces and create a night landscape. Urban Lighting Design enhances the sense of security with lightening dark corners and hidden defenseless spaces, and makes the distinction between public and private areas. From the functional viewpoint, dispersion of active bright points in urban spaces, appropriate lighting to bring out the commercial activities facilities and Lighting of important social spaces will make active participation of people in such public places and therefore, urban environments are controlled by them. Lighting is one of the main factors that sustain women in urban spaces. Better lighting makes more safety and consequently leads to greater presence in the public areas. In general, urban space should be possible to create optional activities such as walking, breathing clean air, and enjoying social activities such as greetings and conversation. This means that urban public spaces should have the potential to meet the needs of different social groups not only aims to provide essential needs, but also to make social relations and the joy in the space. As a result, the criteria for environmental compliance and design spaces should be considered responsively for women to increase their presence. The main aim of this paper was to understand the public areas in Iranian cities and their Lighting to discuss about possible solution for the issue of women presence in public spaces. The observation and interview methods are used to understand the relationship between women presence in urban areas and lighting at Saei Park of Tehran. For this purpose, 10 female visitors of that park (20 to 50 years old) were interviewed on two occasions of morning and evening. Thus it can be concluded that appropriate lighting can enhance security and consequently increase women presence in public areas.