Potential restorative effect of the urban soundscape experience

Abstract

This study investigated the potential restorative effect of various urban soundscape experiences. The evaluation stimulus was implemented using virtual reality technology in a laboratory environment. Restoration-related semantic expression words were selected from the interview responses of 50 subjects, and the presence or absence of the expression of the words was newly proposed as a restorative potential criteria. The objective characteristics of urban soundscapes were analyzed based on auditory, visual, and object aspects, and subjects responded to sound source identification, perceived affective quality, and overall quality. The temperament and character inventory-revised short version and satisfaction with life scale were used to investigate individual characteristics. Based on this, a prediction model having an accuracy of 83% was proposed for the restorative potential criteria. As a result, it was found that the overall perception of soundscape was a crucial factor in increasing the restorative potential effect of the urban soundscape experience. In addition, it was confirmed that the restorative potential effect by individual characteristics varied significantly even in the same space. The findings of this study are expected to serve as a basis for sustainable and healthy urban soundscape design.