Street lighting for smart cities: wins and trends

February 8, 2021

A recent Signify webinar with NYPA and Guidehouse Insights discussed the trends for street lighting that will be smartening our cities in 2021 and beyond.

From Shanghai to Seattle, cities are booming. As the world’s population rises, half of us have made our homes in the world’s great metropolises. By 2050, that number will rise to two-thirds.

In a recent Signify webinar, three expert speakers highlighted the wins and trends that will shape our urban lives in the future: Eric Woods, Research Director at industry analyst firm Guidehouse Insights; Kevin Luteran, Smart Street Lighting NY Program Manager at NYPA, and Eng Yong Liang, Global Subsegment Director for Cities at Signify.

The pandemic may have slowed down the implementation of some existing smart city programs, but it has also caused a shift in the way cities make priorities, favoring projects with far-reaching benefits. In the short term, municipalities are prioritizing health and making sure there is safe access to transportation, hospitality, retail and social services. In the long term, they’re considering how to use their post-pandemic recovery plans to build back better. As a proven and cost-effective upgrade, a shift to smart LED street lighting makes a strong first move.

Eric Woods, Research Director at Guidehouse Insights, explains more. “As cities think about their recovery strategies, they are also thinking about their aspirational priorities. It's been heartening to see so many cities committing to building back greener and cleaner, and taking opportunities to address climate change and other environmental issues. And they're also making the commitment to build back in a more socially just and equitable way.”

Eric highlights the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, along with the recognition of disparities in health outcomes linked to issues like inequality in housing and digital access.

“Smart City programs have to be aligned to these priorities. We also have to deliver ways of thinking about how technology is deployed to deliver holistic solutions that tackle multifaceted city problems. A decade or more ago, we talked about this as being the goal of the most ambitious smart city programs. Now it is a priority factor that will be embedded in many of the programs.

“We are starting to see a number of ambitious stimulus and recovery programs being announced that could further accelerate street lighting projects as they are well aligned with goals like digitalization of the city’s infrastructure and reduction in emissions, while also offering a strong financial incentive.”

But cost is not the only factor.

“Beyond the cost savings and energy efficiency improvements, there is the functionality and capabilities enabled by the street lighting network. Building that connectivity also lays out additional infrastructure for the city that allows other applications in areas such as traffic management, air quality monitoring, and public safety to make use of that platform. It gives cities a way into thinking about a broader Internet of Things (IoT) environment. It also aligns with a broader set of developments around city connectivity, whether that's WiFi, IoT mesh networks for the expansion of 4G and 5G capabilities into the system.”