One of the things I love most about the Middle East and Mediterranean is that people of all ages and lifestyles stay up and out quite late relative to northern Europe or North America. In Istanbul, I can happily walk outside after midnight any summer night and see families out for walks, old neighbourhood ladies out gossiping, young people out socializing, etc.
It also makes the streets much safer. People talk to each other, watch the neighborhood children and are quick to act if a mugging, theft or robbery is afoot.
The US military in Iraq has grasped this. In this small article touting successes in setting up solar-powered health clinics, it said the solar power systems were so well received, they installed solar-powered lighting in Northwest Baghdad Abu Ghraib. This meant markets, shops and restaurants stayed open longer, increasing economic activity, and as locals felt safer, the stay out later and in greater numbers, thus increasing security and and local confidence.
With one public good, a lighting system with a reliable source of power, you can aid the development and reinforcement of others: community, economic activity and security.
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