In Outer Suburbs, Lighting Up the Night

In Outer Suburbs, Lighting Up the Night: "Astronomers led the fight against light pollution in the 1980s, encountering opposition from businessmen worried about the cost of replacing fixtures and citizens concerned that darkness threatens public safety."

Perception of security shapes landscapes, always.

What else does it shape? What about attention spans, sleep patterns, community interaction?

If the streets are alit at night, do people gather there? As rebel teenagers in Dallas, Texas, we used to take long walks through suburban street, parking lot, and park, playing complicated games of hide-and-seek.

There was something morbid and unhealthy about the colors our faces took in each of the different residential districts' lights -- sulfur yellow and black and white; unhealthy greenish fluorescent glows. It was sort of seductive, and sort of frightening.