Iluminação pública, segurança urbana e uso do espaço noturnoevidências e desenho de políticas

Resumo

This policy brief synthesizes the evidence on the effects of public lighting on urban crime reduction and proposes a results-oriented decision framework for municipal policymakers. Its central message is that public lighting ranks among the most cost-effective interventions ever evaluated in the public safety literature. This conclusion is supported by two complementary strands of evidence. The first is experimental, exemplified by the randomized controlled trial conducted in New York City public housing developments, which recorded a 36% reduction in serious nighttime outdoor crimes. The second is large-scale quasi-experimental evidence, which evaluates the real-world impacts of public programs in comparable areas, as illustrated by the Brazilian assessment of the Luz Para Todos prograт. The impact of lighting, however, is not automatic. Its effectiveness depends on the spatial targeting of nighttime crime hotspots, the technical quality of installation (including LED technology, illuminance uniformity, and color temperature), integration with other elements of the built environment (such as urban tree management, surveillance, and commercial activity), and continuous maintenance. The brief advances four recommendations for public policy design (spatial prioritization, technology selection, contractual governance, and urban integration) and four safeguards against potential unintended consequences (light pollution, spatial crime displacement, perceived safety without actual safety gains, and the regressive capture of investments by already advantaged areas). Three conditions recur consistently across successful cases: integrated crime-lighting mapping as a matter of state policy; the use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for lighting services based on public safety performance rather than mere technical availability; and the incorporation of lighting as essential infrastructure within broader publicspace strategies.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Relatório

Ano

2026

Instituição

Fundação Getulio Vargas

Fonte

Repositório da FGV

Idioma

Português

Acesso

Acesso aberto

Identificador

oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/41581

Temas

Políticas PúblicasPPPAdministração PúblicaGovernança

Palavras-chave

Iluminação públicaSegurança urbanaPrevenção situacionalEspaço noturnoCPTEDPublic lightingUrban safetySituational crime preventionNighttime public spaceAdministração pública