How streetscape affects subjective responses regarding acoustic comfort: an empirical study based on pedestrian environments with traffic noise

Abstract

How streetscape affects subjective responses regarding acoustic comfort of pedestrian streets in traffic noise environments were examined through an experimental study that considered a multifunctional audio-visual environment with no/low, medium, and high street greenery, dominated by road traffic sound. The results showed that the differences in the acoustic comfort evaluations without and with medium or high greenery were statistically significant. The differences in the acoustic comfort evaluations among streetscapes with different environmental functions were also statistically significant. However, sound levels were the most significant factor affecting acoustic comfort when road traffic at 50-70 dBA was predominantly heard, to a lesser extent, the visible street greenery and environmental functions. Based on the negative linear relationships between sound levels and acoustic comfort evaluations for no/low, medium, and high greenery conditions, the evaluations affected by greenery increased with the increase in road traffic sound levels in transportation environments with accessing and transportation transfer functions, whereas those influenced by either high or medium greenery in leisure environments with resting and catering functions tended to decrease gradually.