Influence of Personal Factors on Sound Perception and Overall Experience in Urban Green Areas. A Case Study of a Cycling Path Highly Exposed to Road Traffic Noise.

Francesco Aletta,Dick Botteldooren,Timothy Van Renterghem

doi:10.3390/ijerph15061118

Francesco Aletta, Dick Botteldooren + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061118

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Abstract

In contemporary urban design, green public areas play a vital role. They have great societal value, but if exposed to undue environmental noise their restorative potential might be compromised. On the other hand, research has shown that the presence of greenery can moderate noise annoyance in areas with high sound levels, while personal factors are expected to play an important role too. A cycling path bordered by vegetation, but highly exposed to road traffic noise, was here considered as a case study. A sound perception survey was submitted to participants on site and they were subsequently sorted into groups according to their noise sensitivity, visual attention and attitude towards greenery. The aim of this study was testing whether these three personal factors could affect their noise perception and overall experience of the place. Results showed that people highly sensitive to noise and more sceptical towards greenery’s potential as an environmental moderator reported worse soundscape quality, while visually attentive people reported better quality. These three personal factors were found to be statistically independent. This study shows that several person-related factors impact the assessment of the sound environment in green areas. Although the majority of the respondents benefit from the presence of visual green, policy-makers and planners should be aware that for a significant subset of the population, it should be accompanied by a tranquil soundscape to be fully appreciated.

Highlights

Quiet areas have been at the centre of the discourse on Environmental Noise in Europe for many years
Within the framework of this study, the questions in categories a–c will be considered as “target” variables, while the questions in categories d–f will be processed to define possible personal factors-related variables moderating the perception of the acoustic environment and overall experience on the cycling path
The perception of the sound environment and overall experience of a cycling path highly exposed to road traffic noise was analysed by means of a social survey submitted to 181 highly exposed to road traffic noise was analysed by means of a social survey submitted to 181 passers-by during daytime, in a typical working week

Summary

Introduction

Quiet areas have been at the centre of the discourse on Environmental Noise in Europe for many years now. According to the END, each country should identify “quiet areas” and protect them from undue environmental noise Since they were left to each country’s responsibility, the criteria for defining such areas are still a topic for debate and a lot of research efforts went in this direction over the past 15 years [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Agency (EEA) tried to shed some light on this topic by publishing a “Good practice guide on quiet areas” [10] In this policy document, the EEA suggests that (a combination of) four different methods could be used for the identification and management of quiet areas; these are: (1) noise mapping by modelling and calculations; (2) actual measurements of sound-pressure levels in situ; (3) evaluation of user/visitor experiences (i.e., the soundscape approach); and (4) expert assessments.

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