I am not into the idea that if you make things
look nice, people will feel good -- "physical determinism" a columnist
friend of mine calls it -- but many of us would allow that our environments
do send out cues we respond to. As a contributor to places, the new urbanist
planner Andreas Duany believes light matters a lot. I disagree with him
on many questions but admire the way he connects the need for change with
commercial advantage. Duany thinks we should take hints from those with
a more sophisticated understanding of the effects of light on people than
urban planners, illuminating engineers, and highway or public works departments
now have. Who would disagree when he says,
Now the most rigorous of the specialists in terms of human behaviour are absolutely hands down the retailers. They can actually adjust how much people buy, how long people stay in restaurants and how popular they are, by the design of the lighting. This is probably more important than the temperature and various other aspects which one would think could perhaps be more important.