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Public open spaces make crucial contributions to the livability of communities and promote physical and mental health. Soundscapes play an important role in the overall physical comfort of public open spaces. However, owing to insufficient studies of high-density situations, soundscapes are ignored in public open spaces in high-density residential areas. This paper presents a case study of a soundscape in the overseas Chinese town (OCT) of Shenzhen, China. Through in situ observation, four distinct soundscapes were easily identified by performing soundscape conceptualization according to the ISO. In terms of the four identified soundscape areas, subjective evaluations of acoustic comfort and annoyance and their influencing factors were thoroughly explored. The results reveal that the natural soundscape had the best evaluations, whereas the artificial one did not have the worst result. It is interesting to note that acoustic factors do not always significantly influence a soundscape's evaluation. A non-acoustic factor such as the spatial function may play a role as it is related to the context of an individual perceiving an acoustic environment. This study provides first-hand empirical evidence for understanding soundscapes and the influencing factors present in high-density residential public open spaces. The results provide useful knowledge for enhancing soundscape quality in such spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public open spaces make crucial contributions to the livability of communities and promote physical and mental health. Soundscapes play an important role in the overall physical comfort of public open spaces. However, owing to insufficient studies of high-density situations, soundscapes are ignored in public open spaces in high-density residential areas. This paper presents a case study of a soundscape in the overseas Chinese town (OCT) of Shenzhen, China. Through in situ observation, four distinct soundscapes were easily identified by performing soundscape conceptualization according to the ISO. In terms of the four identified soundscape areas, subjective evaluations of acoustic comfort and annoyance and their influencing factors were thoroughly explored. The results reveal that the natural soundscape had the best evaluations, whereas the artificial one did not have the worst result. It is interesting to note that acoustic factors do not always significantly influence a soundscape’s evaluation. A non-acoustic factor such as the spatial function may play a role as it is related to the context of an individual perceiving an acoustic environment. This study provides first-hand empirical evidence for understanding soundscapes and the influencing factors present in high-density residential public open spaces. The results provide useful knowledge for enhancing soundscape quality in such spaces.

Soundscape is an essential component of urban forest landscapes, acoustic indices can be effectively used to monitor biodiversity, but whether they can be used for soundscape perception assessments needs to be further explored. In this study, soundscape recordings were collected in Beijing Eastern Suburban Forest Park, and acoustic indices were used to explore the relationship between the acoustic environment and soundscape perception, as well as the possible effects of temporal changes. To achieve this, audio recordings collected in spring and summer were divided, and a total of 90 audio segments were extracted from three time periods—morning, afternoon, and evening—to calculate the acoustic index and complete a questionnaire survey. The urban forest soundscape was evaluated according to the eight perceptual attribute quality indicators of ISO 12913, and generalized linear models were constructed to quantify the relationships between the acoustic indices and perception. The results showed that the temporal variation of the soundscape influenced the subjective evaluation, with the highest overall evaluation relating to the morning soundscape. The combination of acoustic indices explained the soundscape pleasantness (R2 = 0.58) better than the soundscape eventfulness (R2 = 0.54), demonstrating the utility of these indices in soundscape assessment. Linking acoustic indices to human perception generates innovative ideas and theoretical support for soundscape enhancement, contributing to a more pleasant acoustic environment and maximizing the social value of urban forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soundscapes are one of the main means of creating a religious atmosphere in Han Chinese Buddhist temples, which are the most important religious sites in China. This paper selected several representative forest-type and urban-type Han Chinese Buddhist temples and employed a questionnaire and sound level measurement methods to conduct a comparative analysis of four aspects of acoustic environment evaluation, i.e., quietness, comfort, harmony, and sound preference, to identify and compare the characteristics of respondents' soundscape evaluation in these two types of temples. The results showed that compared with urban-type temples, respondents found the acoustic environment in forest-type temples to be quieter, more comfortable and more harmonious with the religious atmosphere. The sound level, measured with the questionnaire and respondents' social characteristics, such as age, occupation, level of education, purpose and frequency of visiting the temples, and attitude towards Buddhist thought, influenced their soundscape evaluation of urban-type and forest-type temples to different degrees. Among the various kinds of sounds in the temple, natural sounds, such as the sounds of flowing water, birds and insects, and rustling leaves, were preferred in forest-type temples, while Buddhism-related human-made sounds, including chanting and background music, were preferred in urban-type temples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ISO 12913-1, 12913-2, and 12913-3 have standardized soundscape evaluation from different aspects such as definition and framework, data collection methods, and data analysis. Central to ISO 12913-2 is that an acoustic environment can be evaluated based on perceptual attributes standardized only in English. These perceptual attributes might be interpreted differently in a different country, resulting in incorrect soundscape evaluation. Thus, to overcome the problem, International collaboration was initiated to develop standard perceptual attributes for soundscape evaluation in 15 languages. This study explains the development of soundscape perceptual attributes in Indonesian. A focus group discussion had been conducted to develop the attributes in Indonesian. Afterward, in-situ experiments were carried out to identify soundscape evaluation using two different perceptual attributes both in English and in Indonesian. The Wilkinson signed-rank test analysis shows that the rating score between English and Indonesian attributes is not significant on several attributes. Those attributes are pleasant, vibrant, calm, annoying, and monotonous. The other attributes (chaotic, uneventful, and eventful) are rated differently compared to the Indonesian version. It is interesting to note that using English attributes or using a straightforward translation might not be suitable for soundscape study in Indonesia.

The well-known service quality measurement (SQM) models, Importance-Satisfaction (I-S) model and Improvement index (Ii) model, have been recently proved useful in the analysis of soundscape quality. By combining the concepts of soundscape and quality management, this paper proposes an improved SQM model for soundscape assessment in urban public open spaces. Instead of using the I-S model, the Preference-Satisfaction (P-S) model was developed for soundscape quality evaluation, which can simultaneously assess the importance, satisfaction and improvement direction of soundscape elements and provide more accurate and comprehensive information for guiding the soundscape management and improvement. The proposed methods were subsequently applied to case studies in eight ordinary urban public open spaces in Fujian Province, China, and provided detailed information about the soundscape quality of these surveyed open spaces as well as their improvement strategies. The results have demonstrated the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed method. To the authors' knowledge, practical applications of quality management methods (or its variations) to urban soundscape study are still limited in the literature; therefore, the proposed method and findings of the current study could be valuable for both practical soundscape design and academic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the evaluation criteria for the soundscape of urban green spaces is essential for the purposes of designing and planning. Nevertheless, studies that focus on the significance of soundscape diversity in such evaluations have been very limited. Furthermore, the relationship between soundscape diversity and the indicators used to evaluate soundscape in urban green spaces remains unclear. The present study investigates the relationship by conducting a soundscape survey across 30 green spaces to derive four soundscape diversity indices: the soundscape diversity index (SDI), soundscape richness index (SRI), soundscape dominance index (SDO), and soundscape evenness index (SEI). The findings indicate that soundscape diversity significantly influence sound preference, perceived affective quality, and the overall soundscape assessment, especially in traffic-noise-dominated and natural-sounds-dominated green spaces. Additionally, sound preference and perceived affective quality were found to act as intermediary factors between soundscape diversity and the overall soundscape assessment. The mediating effect was responsible for 23.7%, 24.5%, and 84.3% of the total effect in three types of green space, respectively. Therefore, the ideal soundscape diversity in urban green spaces depends on their specific type, rather than a simple "more is better" or "less is better" approach. Correspondingly, the use of soundscape diversity as a novel evaluation indicator can be employed for the assessment and design of soundscape in urban green spaces in future studies. • SD significantly influence PRE, PAQ, and OSA. • PRE and PAQ are intermediaries through which SD influences OSA. • Soundscape diversity can be used to adjust soundscape evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In communities, outdoor activity space is utilized most often by older adults and children, and the soundscape is very important for its quality. For different community planning modes, such as gated and open communities, focus should be on different soundscape enhancement strategies for outdoor spaces. In this paper, typical samples of activity spaces in a gated community and in an open community were used. The comparison was conducted through soundscape evaluation including an analysis of the dominance of various sound sources, noise annoyance, and the perceptual dimensions of soundscape. The results showed that noise annoyance in the gated community was significantly lower than in the open community, although the noise level was of no significance between the two communities. The community planning mode moderated the relationships among the soundscape perception parameters between the gated and open communities. To reduce noise annoyance in the gated communities, each sound source should be considered; in open communities, traffic noise only should be considered. In a gated community, adding natural sounds to reduce noise annoyance may be a feasible intervention; in an open community, this is not necessary. Besides, there was no relationship between noise annoyance and Eventfulness in an open community, indicating that noise annoyance was insufficient to explain the complex sound environment of the community. China’s community planning will gradually shift from a gated community to an open community, making the soundscape of outdoor activity spaces likely to change dramatically in the future. The findings will help urban designers and managers to adopt targeted strategies to improve the soundscape and quality of life of community-dwelling older adults and children.

In communities, outdoor activity space is utilized most often by older adults and children, and the soundscape is very important for its quality. For different community planning modes, such as gated and open communities, focus should be on different soundscape enhancement strategies for outdoor spaces. In this paper, typical samples of activity spaces in a gated community and in an open community were used. The comparison was conducted through soundscape evaluation including an analysis of the dominance of various sound sources, noise annoyance, and the perceptual dimensions of soundscape. The results showed that noise annoyance in the gated community was significantly lower than in the open community, although the noise level was of no significance between the two communities. The community planning mode moderated the relationships among the soundscape perception parameters between the gated and open communities. To reduce noise annoyance in the gated communities, each sound source should be considered; in open communities, traffic noise only should be considered. In a gated community, adding natural sounds to reduce noise annoyance may be a feasible intervention; in an open community, this is not necessary. Besides, there was no relationship between noise annoyance and Eventfulness in an open community, indicating that noise annoyance was insufficient to explain the complex sound environment of the community. China's community planning will gradually shift from a gated community to an open community, making the soundscape of outdoor activity spaces likely to change dramatically in the future. The findings will help urban designers and managers to adopt targeted strategies to improve the soundscape and quality of life of community-dwelling older adults and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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• Visual landscape satisfaction was positively correlated with soundscape evaluation. • Architectural aesthetics contributed most to the soundscape evaluation. • An SEM of "visual landscape factors–soundscape evaluation" was built. • Relationship between visual landscape and soundscape was analyzed via VR experiments. The visual landscape influences the soundscape experience of urban public spaces. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships among visual landscape factors and soundscape evaluation of old residential areas and determine their main influencing factors. In Tianjin, China, six typical old residential areas were selected to collect sound and video information. Virtual reality (VR) was used to create an evaluation environment, and subjective evaluations of the visual landscape and soundscape were accessed through questionnaire (N = 256). The results show that the evaluation of soundscape and visual landscape satisfaction of the central square in the old residential area is superior to that of the public space along the street, as affected by spatial location, sound characteristics and other factors. Greenery satisfaction, environmental cleanliness, and architectural aesthetics were significantly positively correlated with soundscape evaluation. Additionally, three latent variables, namely, visual landscape factors, spatial factors and soundscape evaluation factors, were identified through factor analysis, and a structural equation model (SEM) of "visual landscape factors – soundscape evaluation" was built. The visual landscape factors in old residential areas were found to be important factors affecting soundscape evaluation. The standardization coefficient was 0.46 (P ≤ 0.01). Although the spatial factors have no direct contribution to the soundscape evaluation of the old residential areas, its observation variable, environmental cleanliness, is significantly positively correlated with all the observed variables of the soundscape evaluation factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between people and their soundscapes in an urban context of innumerable and diverse sensory stimulations is a difficult endeavor. What public space users hear and how they evaluate it in relation to their performed or intended activities can influence users’ engagement with their spaces as well as their assessment of suitability of public space for their needs or expectations. While the interaction between the auditory experience and activity is a topic gaining momentum in soundscape research, capturing the complexity of this relationship in context remains a multifaceted challenge. In this paper, we address this challenge by researching the user-soundscape relationships in relation to users’ activities. Building on previous soundscape studies, we explore the role and interaction of three potentially influencing factors in users’ soundscape evaluations: level of social interaction of users’ activities, familiarity and expectations, and we employ affordance theory to research the ways in which users bring their soundscapes into use. To this end, we employ a mixed methods design, combining quantitative, qualitative and spatial analyses to analyze how users of three public spaces in Amsterdam evaluate their soundscapes in relation to their activities. We documented the use of an urban park in Amsterdam through non-intrusive behavioral mapping to collect spatial data on observable categories of activities, and integrated our observations with on site questionnaires on ranked soundscape evaluations and free responses detailing users’ evaluations, collected at the same time from park users. One of our key findings is that solitary and socially interactive respondents evaluate their soundscapes differently in relation to their activities, with the latter offering higher suitability and lower disruption ratings than the former; this points to qualitatively different auditory experiences, analyzed further based on users’ open-ended justifications for their evaluations. We provide a methodological contribution (adding to existing soundscape evaluation methodologies), an empirical contribution (providing insight on how users explain their soundscape evaluations in relation to their activities) and a policy and design-related contribution, offering additional insight on a transferable methodology and process that practitioners can employ in their work on the built environment to address the multisensory experience of public spaces.

Understanding the relationship between people and their soundscapes in an urban context of innumerable and diverse sensory stimulations is a difficult endeavor. What public space users hear and how they evaluate it in relation to their performed or intended activities can influence users’ engagement with their spaces as well as their assessment of suitability of public space for their needs or expectations. While the interaction between the auditory experience and activity is a topic gaining momentum in soundscape research, capturing the complexity of this relationship in context remains a multifaceted challenge. In this paper, we address this challenge by researching the user-soundscape relationships in relation to users’ activities. Building on previous soundscape studies, we explore the role and interaction of three potentially influencing factors in users’ soundscape evaluations: level of social interaction of users’ activities, familiarity and expectations, and we employ affordance theory to research the ways in which users bring their soundscapes into use. To this end, we employ a mixed methods design, combining quantitative, qualitative and spatial analyses to analyze how users of three public spaces in Amsterdam evaluate their soundscapes in relation to their activities. We documented the use of an urban park in Amsterdam through non-intrusive behavioral mapping to collect spatial data on observable categories of activities, and integrated our observations with on site questionnaires on ranked soundscape evaluations and free responses detailing users’ evaluations, collected at the same time from park users. One of our key findings is that solitary and socially interactive respondents evaluate their soundscapes differently in relation to their activities, with the latter offering higher suitability and lower disruption ratings than the former; this points to qualitatively different auditory experiences, analyzed further based on users’ open-ended justifications for their evaluations. We provide a methodological contribution (adding to existing soundscape evaluation methodologies), an empirical contribution (providing insight on how users explain their soundscape evaluations in relation to their activities) and a policy and design-related contribution, offering additional insight on a transferable methodology and process that practitioners can employ in their work on the built environment to address the multisensory experience of public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soundscape design in city parks is important for a better visiting experience. The aim of this research is to find a more effective way to design soundscapes in city parks, by exploring the relationships between certain physical and psychoacoustic parameters and soundscape composition parameters as proposed in this study, including perceived loudness of individual sound (PLS), perceived occurrences of individual sound (POS), and soundscape diversity index(SDI). The parameters were based on soundscape information gathered with a specifically designed soundwalk method in five city parks in Xiamen, China. The results showed that the soundscape composition parameters play important roles as soundscape parameters. LCeq–LAeq, LA10–LA90 and sharpness showed more explanatory power to the soundscape composition parameters of individual sound categories than other physical and psychoacoustic parameters. PLS of human sounds was the most frequently introduced variable for nearly all the other objective parameters, followed by SDI. Some of the soundscape composition parameters were found to be mutually explainable, including PLS of human sounds with LA10, LCeq–LAeq and sharpness, respectively, POS of traffic sounds with LA10, and PLS of both mechanical and geophysical sounds with sharpness, which supply important information for soundscape design in city parks.

Soundscape design in city parks is important for a better visiting experience. The aim of this research is to find a more effective way to design soundscapes in city parks, by exploring the relationships between certain physical and psychoacoustic parameters and soundscape composition parametersas proposed in this study, including perceived loudness of individual sound (PLS), perceived occurrences of individual sound (POS), and soundscape diversity index (SDI). The parameters were based on soundscape information gathered with a specifically designed soundwalk method in five city parks in Xiamen, China. The results showed that the soundscape composition parameters play important roles as soundscape parameters. LCeq–LAeq, LA10–LA90and sharpness showed more explanatory power to the sound-scape composition parameters of individual sound categories than other physical and psychoacoustic parameters. PLS of human sounds was the most frequently introduced variable for nearly all the other objective parameters, followed by SDI. Some of the soundscape composition parameters were found to be mutually explainable, including PLS of human sounds with LA10, LCeq–LAeqand sharpness, respectively, POS of traffic sounds with LA10, and PLS of both mechanical and geophysical sounds with sharpness, which supply important information for soundscape design in city parks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: To ensure appropriate soundscape management in urban environments, the urban-planning authorities need a range of tools that enable such a task to be performed. An essential step during the management of urban areas from a sound standpoint should be the evaluation of the soundscape in such an area. In this sense, it has been widely acknowledged that a subjective and acoustical categorization of a soundscape is the first step to evaluate it, providing a basis for designing or adapting it to match people's expectations as well. In this sense, this work proposes a model for automatic classification of urban soundscapes. This model is intended for the automatic classification of urban soundscapes based on underlying acoustical and perceptual criteria. Thus, this classification model is proposed to be used as a tool for a comprehensive urban soundscape evaluation. Because of the great complexity associated with the problem, two machine learning techniques, Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Support Vector Machines trained with Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO), are implemented in developing model classification. The results indicate that the SMO model outperforms the SVM model in the specific task of soundscape classification. With the implementation of the SMO algorithm, the classification model achieves an outstanding performance (91.3% of instances correctly classified). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The evaluation and construction of acoustic environments is of great significance from the viewpoint of enriching landscapes and enhancing people's experiences. Taking the Longzihu Park in Zhengzhou, China, as an example, the road soundscape in the southwest part of the park is evaluated and analysed. The results indicate the existence of a certain relationship between the degree of satisfaction with the sound landscape and its sound source structure elements, sound source preferences, sound pressure levels, landscape configuration, and other factors. Construction of the sound landscape features and design of richness are effective means to improve the sound environments of park roads. The specific construction process of soundscape is put forward, and the sound pressure of soundscape is planned based on GIS platform. This research attempts to build a relatively complete subjective and objective evaluation system and propose an effective method to solve actual problems pertaining to acoustic landscapes, thus providing a theoretical basis and a case to guide the follow-up practice of road acoustic landscape design in the park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walking is necessary for experiencing urban space, but pedestrians are seriously disturbed by traffic noise. This study aimed to clarify spatial variations in soundscape evaluation in pedestrian spaces used solely for walking, including traffic noise annoyance, the dominance of various sound sources, and the perceptual dimensions of the soundscape. Three traffic noise level areas, at various distances from the road, were evaluated in a typical pedestrian space in China, using a questionnaire survey in an on-site study. The results reveal that, first, the soundscape evaluations in the high-noise area (70 dBA) and middle-noise area (60 dBA) are more similar, but present a larger difference with the low-noise area (50 dBA). The latter is more complicated, and more subjective evaluations in this area are required than for higher sound-level areas. Second, the correlation between the soundscape evaluations of the middle-noise area and the low-noise area demonstrates more similarity, but presents a larger difference with the high-noise area, meaning the effectiveness in the high-noise area may differ from lower sound level areas even with the same soundscape improvement measures. Finally, the relationship of the dominance of natural sound with other soundscape evaluations become weaker as the distance from the road increases; this means that deliberately increasing natural sound might be an effective method to improve the soundscape quality in the high-noise area. These findings can provide a reference for soundscape evaluations and landscape design in pedestrian spaces where traffic noise is a problem. • Spatial variations in a soundscape evaluation were examined in pedestrian space. • High- and middle-noise area soundscape evaluations differ to low-noise area. • Relations between middle- and low-noise area evaluations differ to high-noise area. • Relations of natural sound dominance with other evaluations weaken as noise drop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]