To grasp lighting environments around the world, the Lighting Detectives have continued to survey local and global cities. Over 70 cities have been surveyed and record in “The World Lighting Journey,” which has become an important database for comparing the many lighting environments around the world.

JAPAN

OSAKA

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Along Osaka`s main street, Midosuji, taillights create a river of red light. Osaka’s symbolic shopping district, Dotomobori, is full of Osaka style flare. Redevelopment in Nakanoshima West District continues.

JAPAN

NAGOYA

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Looking over the Nagoya nightscape from the symbolic Television Broadcasting Tower, Hisaya Boulevard stands out in the center and orange sodium lamps dominate the park below. The new trendy spot in Nagoya, Oasis 21, along Hisaya Boulevard. …

ASIA

TAIPEI, Taiwan

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The east end of Taipei is really growing and developing with many modern structures like the Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building, looming over the area. But off the main streets and in the back alleys, life is as usual as old buildings…

ASIA

SINGAPORE

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Singapore has been aiming for a nightscape that catches the viewer wondering, “Is this Asia or western Europe?” In this city of perpetual summer, lighting and air conditioning are necessities to be a modern city. Singapore’s intentions are …

ASIA

SHANGHAI, China

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Developing Shanghai is propaganda for the world to see, as the streets of Shanghai seem to explode at night under the glitzy lights of this nightscape. One night the groups of row houses were removed, and the next, modern architecture appea…

ASIA

SEOUL, Korea

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Competing with elaborately planned shop facades, intense Han River bridge illuminations, sign luminaries, and bare light bulbs, all flood the streets with chaotic lights. Multi-colored and thriving on pure energy, the different areas in Seo…

ASIA

MUNBAI, India

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The infrastructure of Munbai is well built, creating a well-lit road surface from a horrendous traffic situation and colonial technology. In contrast, the chaotic bazaar boasts incandescent lights. Rich and poor, concentrated light and shad…

ASIA

JEJUDO, Korea

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Rustic scenery and relaxing daily life co-exist on Jejudo Island, where we stopped for a luxurious stay at a resort hotel. White light from fishing boats dot the horizon and clarify the boundary between the dark night sky and black ocean wa…

ASIA

Guangzhou Shenzhen, China

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Guangzhou on the north shore of the Pearl River Delta As the saying goes “Eating in Guangzhou,” Cantonese cuisine is prepared in a wide variety of ways using almost anything under the sun. Residents carry that energy into the lighting envir…

ASIA

BUSAN, Korea

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New development and activity at the fishing port generate energy in Korea’s second largest city, Busan. In sharp contrast with the dark waters, stores with flashy neon signs edge the perimeter of the bay and people sit mesmerized along the …

EUROPE

VENICE, Italy

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The spirit of light and water reside in Venice. In every corner of the small maze-like alleyways, light and water dance together. During the day it is the sunlight and shadows shining on the water’s surface, at night the small street lamps …

EUROPE

SANTORINI, Greece

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Santorini, one of the many island of Greece, is a crescent-shaped island in the Aegean Sea. The chalk-white townscape on top of the steep bluffs of this island constantly changes with the natural light, like a painter’s canvas, and one is r…

EUROPE

PRAHA, Czech Republic

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Praha, the capital of the Czech Republic, is a one of the European cities with several buildings, streets, and city features preserved from the middle ages, and a very popular destination for tourists. The city, also famous for its many ste…

EUROPE

PARIS, France

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The Paris nightscape has become a model for nightscapes around the world. Appreciation for the streets of Paris has helped to preserve and restore them to places of beauty during the day and at night. At night, the streets emerge as distinc…

EUROPE

LYON, France

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The design of the Lyon nightscape is a joint venture between the government and the citizens. Various lighting materials are used by trail and error throughout the city to create its lightscape. Standing on a street corner one gets the impr…

EUROPE

LONDON, England

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A profound lightness and darkness soaks into the classic streets of London. There is not any flashy propaganda, but the orange street lights in the late night fog bring the history of the city and its lights alive. The question now is how m…

EUROPE

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

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The thoughts and ideas of Poul Henningsen seem to be present throughout the streets of Copenhagen. Co-existing soft, tender light and natural light combine to create a nightscape in Copenhagen that reminds us technology is not always the an…

EUROPE

BUDAPEST, Hungary

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Even as the busy capital of Hungary, this city is almost free of fancy colored-lighting and flashy signage. Overall there is not much facade lighting or the glamorous atmosphere associated with many larger cities in Western Europe. However,…

EUROPE

BERLIN, Germany

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The new cityscape in Potsdamer Platz is a symbol for the new Berlin. Like light, the shadow from the wall that separated the east and west has dwindled to nothing, but some things still stay the same. The light along Ku-Damm Street still cr…

EUROPE

BARCELONA, Spain

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Barcelona is a city of monuments, whether driving or walking, these unforgett- able symbols of Barcelona are everywhere. At night, the lights of the city further jog one’s memory and create distinctive perspective projections. Streaks from …