Making cities smarter with new soundscape indices

Abstract

The core objectives of smart city design are to increase quality of life, enhance efficiency, and move towards the sustainability of cities. While this will involve increased integration of new and smarter technologies into urban design, the implementation of these technologies as applied to acoustics should be made within a design approach which considers these core objectives. Soundscape strategies have a focus on people’s perception and experience, considering the many factors which influence their perception. A recognized demand in the field of soundscape is a new set of metrics that can reliably measure both the acoustic environment and its perception. The European Research Council acknowledged this need and recently funded the Advanced Grant project “Soundscape Indices” (SSID), which aims at providing more advanced tools, compared to conventional dB-based metrics, by taking into account psychological, (psycho)acoustical, neurophysiological, and contextual factors for soundscape assessment. The SSID project will: characterise soundscapes, by capturing acoustic environments and establishing a comprehensive database; identify key factors and their influence on soundscape quality based on the database, by conducting laboratory psychological evaluations, acoustical/psychoacoustic factors analysis; and research the neural and psychophysiological underpinnings of soundscape experience. It is expected that SSID will provide a vital tool in guiding the implementation of the technological infrastructure of smart cities.