Abstract
The soundscape of an expressway in Zagreb was recorded and reproduced to two groups of listeners while they were performing a concentration demanding task – a simplified variation of the memory game. This expressway was chosen due to the high traffic frequency and on the other hand, due to the large number of residential buildings that are near the expressway. The focus of the research is whether the residents of a large city, in their daily life have adapted to this noise and how. We also wanted to investigate what is the main reason of their annoyance and distraction. Furthermore, we wanted to quantify human distraction with this typical urban soundscape by developing and then using the acoustic model for total distraction level.
Highlights
The initial concept of soundscape was proposed as an attempt to create an analytical perspective that would explain the total acoustic environment over time and across cultures [1]
People are exposed to different sound environments on a daily basis
Frequent exposure to even a slight change in our everyday sound environment would result in adaptation; providing the loudness levels were not significantly higher, these changes would not be perceived as annoying [10]
Summary
The initial concept of soundscape was proposed as an attempt to create an analytical perspective that would explain the total acoustic environment over time and across cultures [1]. Taking into account several variables such as loudness, pitch strength and fluctuation of pitch strength among others, it is possible to calculate the annoyance level of a certain sound or a soundscape [4,5,6]. Another part of soundscape and sound analysis deals with their distraction properties and the way in which characteristic sounds influence people performing logical, mathematical and other concentration demanding tasks [7, 8]. Frequent exposure to even a slight change in our everyday sound environment would result in adaptation; providing the loudness levels were not significantly higher, these changes would not be perceived as annoying [10]
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