Research overview: dark corridors and wildlife-sensitive lighting design

As awareness of light pollution grows, planners increasingly consider wildlife-sensitive lighting and the preservation of dark corridors to maintain connectivity for nocturnal animals. This overview synthesises applied research and practice on shielded, dimmed, warmer-spectrum and motion-activated lighting, and the protection of unlit movement corridors that nocturnal felids and other wildlife can use to traverse cities. It examines evidence that such measures reduce avoidance and mortality, and the trade-offs with human lighting needs for safety and amenity. The synthesis frames lighting design as a tractable, design-stage intervention to soften the impact of urban illumination on felid movement and behaviour.