Bright City Lights
Arnie Jewel wants us to look beyond razzle-dazzle of City Lights
Various creative works have rightly praised the beauty of bright city lights. They see it as big deal. But isn’t it obvious? City lights really make city merry shine.
Ever since the advent of electric bulb and stuff, cities have kind of become one huge tinsel city, especially at night. But you can see at every moment magnificent multimedia screens and billboards showing infomercials, commercials and adverts in vivid lights and colour.
In spite of everything, theirs represent just a part of bright city lights. And since one part does not equal the whole, city night view always teems with a variety of lights and colours.
Generally, the beauty of bright city lights is like people who are getting their moments in the sun. Besides, even the subtle shades of some bright city lights can distinguish the haves and the-haves-not, the high-lives and the low-lives, as well as the good, the bad and the ugly.
All these interrelate with democracy and capitalism. In other words, democracy and capitalism create class, choices and the like. However, some people have taken liberties with the liberal nature of democracy. Little wonder George W. Bush once said that some “people cheat and drive around in Cadillacs.”
Generally speaking, luxury and chauffeur-driven cars are for the privileged few. In that context, whether it takes place in the daytime or nighttime, only a coterie of people can drive around ex cathedra in long convoy blaring sirens, with their headlights, taillights, and hazard lights turned on at full watts, warts and all. Their lovely display always commands attention.
The beauty of bright city lights is like people who are getting their moments in the sun.
Added to these are the equally lovely sights of their outriders whose motorbikes keep steady headlights and flashing blue light as they go. Naturally, the convoys always add their own version to the beauty of the bright city lights.
Similarly, traffic lights and the respective revolving flashing lights of ambulances, police and fire service vehicles become more pronounced at night.
You can also imagine the exciting sight of a lone rider or a bunch of power bikers riding for lark, or going for that crucial camaraderie experience at their biker bar or rally. At night they always beam their headlights and all as they go on the expressway.
Apart from such vehicles and bikes, some cities have good street lights, catseyes, etc that reflect traffic lights at night. Even so, there are special catseyes that generate their own lights at night, would you believe it!
Furthermore, some modern pedestrians often become a walking illumination at night. Their matchbox-size pedestrian reflector can reflect a car’s headlights from a distance of 100 to 200 meters. Still talking about wearable lights, today’s generation loves to wear her light-emitting clothing, headbands, headphones and other headgears. They simply glow in the dark.
Even some children and the youths horse around town, public concourses, entertainment centres, and holiday resorts in their fancy footwear and rollerblades that flash polychrome lights.
Similar lights add more fun, colour and beauty to some fountains around town.
In yet another related experience, smartphones also come with their inbuilt lighting system. In fact, every modern cell phone has polychromic backlit lights that more than brighten its screen at night.
Elevators, escalators, carousels, scanners, robots, and androids equally have their light sensors and infra-red light.
Cut to another kind of light. It is called actinic light that trigger open certain electronic doors when somebody approaches.
And once in a while, we also have the spectacular skywriting, bangers, fireworks and fire-lit blimps or hovercraft up in the city night skies. And what about the seasonal Christmas lights that further add light and colour to the cities? Or what about the stationery games torch during some sports festivals in the cities? And what about hand-held GPS gadgets and the astronaut-tested visor light therapy for jet lag?
While we continue to add to the long list of city lights, we also have klieg lights, spotlights, floodlights, laser beam, radar blip, LED light, studio lights, solar light, gas lamp – to mention but a few.
In a similar manner, some entertainment venues are equipped with photodromes for very thrilling and curious optical effects. And out there at the discotheques, their polychrome disco lights amid other things can equally hold you spellbound.
And then again, the welding activities of some city welders at night produce harsh bright flames. The magic of these bright flames is actually caused by acetylene gas.
In another related development, we have the lighter and matches that produce relative bright light. And if marijuana, cigarette and cigar lights can be counted among the many shades of city lights, then you’ve seen them around town every day and night. But their red light signifies the red flag of health risks. Yet many a smoker is like: “I don’t wanna be a freak, but I can’t help myself.” It’s a habit. And habits die hard.
But if we should still talk about city light and color spectrum, we also have in spots twinkle, twinkle, little stars, like a diamond in the sky! As a matter of fact, some places really stand out “like a star in the neon light.”
Yes, some places in a city feel like a direct answer to Rihanna’s typical call: Shine bright like a diamond.
Others are like the art form of chiaroscuro: part light, part shades of grey.
To think, a city is a blend of so many things. To paraphrase the words of a certain writer: In our cities we have institutions, corporations, commerce, churches, courts, cinemas, casinos, clubhouses, whorehouses and the rest.
The picture simply captures a city as a place teeming with cultures, colors, sounds and light. Even so, night in the cities teems with all manner of urban cultures.
Talking about urban culture, bright city lights promote high level of nighttime economic activities, recreation, entertainment, tourism and other by-products of bright city lights. In other words, light is at the heart of cities’ night economic activities.
In Nigeria, it is on record that it was Former Lagos State Governor Raji Fashola who first drew attention to the concept of night economy. To be sure, there was nothing novel about a state government investing in public lighting and completing about 300 km of street lighting across various locations in Lagos State.
But what captured Nigerians’ imagination was Fashola’s stated reasons that drove the initiative: injective life into the state’s already bubbling night economy. Fashola’s lighting project enhanced visibility and security, allowing market traders to extend their hours well beyond 6 PM into the wee hours, resulting in significant economic benefits for Lagosians.
Bright city lights help us stem some nighttime urban crimes. At least, they discourage some overt shady deals. Just as important is the fact that bright city lights make a city more aesthetically pleasing and conducive to live in.
Interestingly, some of these cities alongside bright city lights have risen to crucial heights of civilization and change. And throughout history, development has been more in the cities than rural areas. Of course, the experience of a typical rural area is very different.
It always yearns to share in the joys of bright city lights. Needless to say that it calls for rural electrification and other development to help promote similar pleasures enjoyed by city people.
Seems like a legit desire, just as long as the city light effects will not interfere with the unique delights of rural life.
