On the Sound Environment of the City of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

An exploration of the sound environment in the city of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, is presented. A series ofinterviews were held with 19 residents, of which 7 were undergraduate students, related to the perception of sound inor around places of different zones in the so-called “Viejo Vallarta” (“Old Vallarta”).The purpose was twofold, firstly, to explore the ideas people have relating to the sounds they hear in the city -and ingeneral, the ideas they have relating to peace and tranquility and its possible relation with the sound environment-;secondly, to identify some zones or places that have a particular sound environment - positive or negative. Naturalsounds emerged as an important part of the sound identity of the Vallarta region and they seem to be highlyappreciated even when the sound levels are high. Sounds related to nature emerged in all interviews: bird calls,sound of wind rustling through trees, sound of breaking sea waves, etc. The interviewees identified places or zoneswith a negative sonic identity due to disagreeable or high intensity sounds; traffic flow, and mostly the urban bus, is tobe blamed for in the main (some mentioned radios at high volume). A series of sound levels (dBA re 20 μPa) at threedifferent times of the year: February, April, and October, 2009 were measured in some locations mentioned by theinterviewees. The average sound levels found on those locations considered as having a disagreeable identity werethe highest.