Potential restorative effects of urban soundscapes: Personality traits, temperament, and perceptions of VR urban environments

Abstract

This study investigated the potential restorative (PR) effects of urban soundscapes. To establish a new set of PR criteria for urban environments, this study recreated 10 urban sites in virtual reality, instead of using the typical method of questionnaires. A list of restoration-related semantic terms was derived from narrative interviews of 50 subjects who freely expressed their perceptions of the space. PR criteria were determined based on the derived list and two groups were found: the PR group and potential non-restorative group. The objective characteristics of urban soundscapes—acoustic and visual characteristics and characteristics of moving objects—were analyzed. Participants provided their subjective responses regarding sound source identification, perceived affective quality, and overall quality. The Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised-Short Version and Satisfaction with Life Scale were utilized to analyze participants’ individual characteristics. Based on it, a model was developed to predict whether PR criteria could be satisfied, which was 82.6% accurate (85.9% specificity, 71.8% sensitivity). It was determined that the overall level of preference regarding an urban soundscape is a significant factor in satisfying PR criteria. In particular, the design and planning of urban spaces should aim to reduce a space’s loudness and increase the revisitation rate to promote the restoration of the urban residents’ mental health. Furthermore, for individuals, a trait based on acquired experience has a greater impact on the PR effects of urban soundscapes than innate temperament. This study’s findings can serve as supporting data to design sustainable and health-promoting urban soundscapes.