Darkness in cities could heal people and nature

Cities glow all night – streets, buildings, ads, and skylines never sleep. We call it progress. But what if this constant brightness is disconnecting us from our bodies, minds, and the Earth? What if the answer lies in the quiet power of darkness?

Professor Nick Dunn of Lancaster University proposes a different path – one that invites darkness back into our lives. His idea may sound strange in a world obsessed with visibility and brightness. But at its heart lies a radical rethinking of what it means to live well, together, on a shared Earth.

This is not a plea for darkness out of nostalgia. It is a vision grounded in science, architecture, health, ecology, and culture. It suggests that turning down the lights might brighten our future in unexpected ways.

Why we should talk about darkness

We often hear about the need to green our cities – more parks, trees, and nature-friendly spaces. These efforts aim to improve air quality, support wildlife, and create healthier environments for people. Professor Dunn introduces a complementary concept: darkening cities.

“Ditching urban lighting as we know it and designing buildings to be nocturnal will be beneficial for ourselves and the planet,” said Professor Dunn.

Urban lighting, he argues, has grown unchecked. It spills into places where it’s not needed, affecting both humans and nonhumans. The glow from city lights disrupts sleep, confuses migratory birds, and alters entire ecosystems.

Imagine a different kind of urban night. One where we still feel safe, but no longer rely on overpowering light. A place where we adjust to the rhythms of the Earth and create shared spaces that acknowledge the beauty of nightfall.

Reclaiming our rhythms through darkness

Humans evolved with the rising and setting of the sun. Our internal clocks – known as circadian rhythm – depend on regular cycles of light and dark. When those cycles break down, so do our bodies. Poor sleep, anxiety, and other health issues follow.

Professor Dunn believes we can design cities that align with these rhythms. “Imagine a whole new world of effective shared living, where we listen to our natural rhythms instead of fighting against them.”

At the core of his work is the idea that light, while essential, has become excessive. It dominates modern life. Darkness, meanwhile, appears unwanted. Yet it holds vital benefits. It allows the mind to rest, the body to heal, and ecosystems to function.

Professor Dunn’s research highlights how reclaiming the night could renew the human-nature connection. It could also lower energy use and cut pollution, both urgent concerns in the climate crisis.

Challenging old ideas

Why are we so afraid of the dark? Why do we treat it as something to avoid, erase, or overcome? These are questions Professor Dunn tackles in his recent book, Dark Futures: When the Lights Go Down.

“So, what might happen when the lights go down?” he asks. “And how bright should our future be?”

He critiques the way most future-thinking plays out. “When we consider what futures are possible, they tend to direct us to visions of either a shiny, frictionless world which is light and bright or, at the other end of the spectrum, they are fearsome, shadowy dystopias.”

Both extremes fail us. The future doesn’t have to be one or the other. By thinking only in terms of brightness, we miss a deeper, more nuanced possibility.

A dark future isn’t a gloomy one. It’s one where we live more consciously, more gently, and more honestly within our environmental limits.

Darkness as connection, not absence

For centuries, light has symbolized goodness, knowledge, and progress. Darkness has been cast as the enemy. But Professor Dunn wants us to break that binary.

“Common perception holds light and dark in opposition,” writes Professor Dunn. “Light is celebrated and synonymous with goodness, clarity, and wisdom. Darkness, meanwhile, appears unwanted, deep in its association with all that is dangerous, demonic, and oppressive.”

In reality, darkness is not just an absence. It is a presence in itself – one that allows other things to emerge, like stars, slence, sleep, mystery, depth, and reconnection.

“Embracing darkness is about so much more than tackling light pollution,” says Professor Dunn. “In fact, it runs through everything and is the key to reconnecting with the world around us.”

This view does not reject light but seeks balance. It asks us to recognize what happens when one side dominates too much – when light drowns out everything else.

Losing the night, losing ourselves

The spread of artificial light now reaches places once untouched by human presence. Professor Dunn points out that fast-moving satellites can now brighten even remote corners of the Earth.

Professor Dunn says we are losing the night due to excessive artificial lighting. For centuries this was a terrestrial problem, but now fast-moving satellites can illuminate parts of the planet that were previously remote enough not to be affected.

That loss is more than aesthetic. It breaks ancient ties to the cosmos. “As a result, our ancestral links with dark skies, relationships which lasted for millennia are all but extinguished with artificial stars due to replace those in the galaxy.”

He argues that we are not just lighting up our cities – we are dimming our place in the universe. We are replacing wonder with convenience, rhythm with interruption, and mystery with glare.

A different future worth building

What might a darker city look like? Not one filled with shadows and fear, but one designed for rest, awareness, and care. Buildings that support the night instead of fighting it. Streets that dim without becoming unsafe. Parks where nocturnal animals thrive. Neighborhoods where stars return.

“Darkness is progressive,” notes Professor Dunn. “It signifies the very act of being alive as a species that depends on circadian rhythms for survival. Our ability to flourish depends entirely on rethinking our values and restoring our interrelationships with the planet and its other inhabitants.”

This isn’t science fiction. It’s a call for a real shift in how we shape our spaces and systems. A darker future, in his view, might be gentler, kinder, and healthier for all species.

Dark Futures blends personal story with architectural insight. It explores how embracing darkness shaped Professor Dunn’s own thinking. And it shows how we might use design to imagine new, hopeful possibilities.

A book and a movement

Dark Futures: When the Lights Go Down is published on March 25, with an official launch event in Manchester on April 10. The book is more than a critique – it’s an invitation. It asks us to pause, look up, and notice what we’re missing in the glare.

“In an unprecedented era of climate emergency, we need to fundamentally rethink what we do, how we do it, and why,” writes Professor Dunn.

That rethinking starts with something as simple as the dark. Letting it return, letting it teach us, and letting it be part of how we imagine what comes next.

We have tried lighting the world. Now, perhaps, it is time to see what happens when the lights go down.

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