Estimating Psychological Travel Costs at Nighttime Street Illuminance

This study examines the impact of street illumination on pedestrians’ psychological travel costs at night. Illuminance measurements, a subjective evaluation survey, and a contingent valuation method with a double-bounded dichotomous choice format were conducted. The results indicate that perceived brightness is more strongly associated with vertical illuminance than horizontal illuminance. While improved lighting increases detour acceptance, the median detour time is negative, suggesting a right-skewed distribution with heterogeneous preferences. Furthermore, women exhibit significantly higher detour time than men, indicating gender differences in the evaluation of nighttime walking environments.