What if more light doesn’t mean more safety?

In this episode of Restoring Darkness, hosts Michael Colligan and Mark Baker sit down with Dr. Jim Uttley, lecturer in architectural science at the University of Sheffield and environmental psychologist, to uncover the surprising truth about street lighting, darkness, and human behavior.

🌌 Topics explored:

This is a deep dive into how light at night affects crime, travel, and our environment—and why rethinking “brighter is better” could change the way we design our streets.

🔗 Links to Dr. Uttley’s research:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0324134

Variance in odds ratios for estimating the deterrent effect of darkness on cycling: Variation due to the choice of case and control hours

Variance in odds ratios for estimating the deterrent effect of darkness on cycling: Variation due to the choice of case and control hours https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0311964 

 Connect with Dr. Uttley: 

Https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-uttley-9542b194/ 

Https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/architecture/people/academic/jim-uttley 

Http://lightingresearch.group.shef.ac.uk/index.html