A cross-cultural study on perception of residential noises using the online questionnaire

Abstract

With the spread of the coronavirus, people are spending less time outside and more time working and studying online. As a result, the soundscape of the residential environment is becoming more important. In this study, we will identify the tendencies of people in Japan and China to evaluate the sound of their living environment. Based on the data collected from the questionnaire, portfolios will be created. The portfolios will allow us to compare differences in evaluation tendencies across multiple cultures. The survey for both China and Japan was carried out by online questionnaire. The questionees were 81 Japanese and 32 Chinese. As a result, the impact sound, such as the sound of opening and closing windows and doors, interior decoration, and moving furniture, is rated worse by Chinese people than by Japanese people. This may be due to differences in the choice of interior materials and the structure and type of housing. According to the data, 87.5 % of people in China live in houses made of reinforced concrete, while Japanese houses are mostly made of wood (58.9 %). At the same time, the material used for flooring in China is mostly tile, while in Japan it is mostly wood.