Copenhagen's 'Smart' New Street Lamps Shine Brighter for Cyclists

Copenhagen is known for its environmentally friendly ways, and now even its street lamps are going green. Twenty thousand of the city’s outdoor lights—half of the total number—are being replaced with more efficient lamps featuring LED bulbs. Energy use will be reduced by 57 percent starting in 2016, reportedly equal to the annual consumption of 4,500 Copenhagen households. The project is just one step in the city’s quest to become the world’s first carbon-neutral capital by 2025.

In an even greener move, the local government decided to auction off 7,000 of the old street lamps for reuse. You might wonder if anyone would buy such beat-up objects, but the lights, whose deep, bowl-like silhouettes have hung from wires in the middle of Copenhagen’s streets since the late 1970s, are proving to be objects of both nostalgia and fashion for residents.