Effects of contexts on perception of urban soundscape.

Abstract

In the present study, the effects of contexts on soundscape perception in urban space are investigated through social surveys and soundwalks. Acoustic comfort, visual image, day lighting, olfactory, and reverberance are utilized as main contexts which may have an effect on the soundscape perception. Preference for contexts and overall impressions are evaluated by using an 11-point. numerical scale in the social survey and soundwalk. For qualitative analysis, semantic differential tests are performed in the social survey while subjects are asked to describe their own impressions during soundwalks. The results show that urban soundscapes can be characterized by soundmarks, and soundscape perceptions are dominated by acoustic comfort, visual image, and day lighting. However, it is found that the subjective rating of reverberance in urban spaces is not appropriate. The categories extracted from the qualitative analysis reveal that spatial sensations such as openness and density emerge as primary contexts for soundscape perception.