Non-auditory factors affecting urban soundscape evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Urban planning and design
• Environmental psychology
• Acoustics

Background:

• Urban spaces are complex environments integrating landscape, acoustics, and lighting.
• Understanding human perception of urban soundscapes is crucial for designing better urban environments.
• Non-auditory factors significantly influence auditory perception in urban settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize urban spaces by analyzing landscape, acoustics, and lighting.
• To investigate human perception of urban soundscapes using quantitative and qualitative methods.
• To identify key factors influencing soundscape perception, including non-auditory elements.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a general questionnaire survey and soundwalks to gather data on soundscape perception.
• Evaluated context preferences and overall impressions using an 11-point numerical scale.
• Employed a semantic differential test and descriptive analysis during social surveys and soundwalks for qualitative insights.

Main Results:

• Urban soundscapes can be effectively characterized by 'soundmarks'.
• Acoustic comfort, visual imagery, and daylighting were identified as dominant factors in soundscape perception.
• Reverberance did not consistently influence preference judgments, suggesting physical measurements may be more reliable.

Conclusions:

• Spatial impressions, such as openness and density, significantly contribute to the context of soundscape perception.
• Subjective evaluations of reverberance could potentially be substituted with objective physical measurements.
• Integrated approaches considering auditory and non-auditory factors are essential for understanding and improving urban soundscape perception.