Constructing the ideal soundscape: a practical study on closing the gaps between soundscape and urban designers

Abstract

Calls are increasingly made for an urban land-use policy that takes non-vision sensory modalities into account, like hearing, but agents capable of making such changes often lack the expertise to do so. The best progress in acoustics so far has been through intentional soundscape design, which considers sound during the urban design process rather than after. Indeed, soundscape designers should understand how complicated factors play out in-situ, such as findings linking increased driving speeds with acoustically treated roads. Armed with this knowledge, they can take action to prevent further harm to the urban landscape. In practice, however, what can happens is 1) papers in soundscape are written in language not interesting to urban designers; 2) research studies examine the current environment without proposing design updates; and 3) different investigators fail to agree on what constitutes wanted and unwanted noise. Each of these shortcomings contributes to a built environment that reflects little of our sophisticated understanding. In response, this presentation will: demonstrate how soundscape research can fit into current urban design frameworks; review the literature to suggest some small and large acoustically-optimized urban designs; and encourage collaboration channels for the direct flow of soundscape research into urban design practice.