Water features and acoustic diversity of urban parks

Abstract

Water features are well-acknowledged in architecture and urban planning for their visual characteristics. But, how do water features contribute to acoustic diversity and soundscape quality? Visitors in an urban park were recruited to complete a questionnaire on how they perceived the park including its soundscape. Meanwhile, the soundscape was manipulated by turning a fountain on or off at irregular hours. The fountain sounds had a positive effect on soundscape quality in an area close to the fountain, by masking background road-traffic noise. The fountain sound also masked other natural sounds, which may have a negative influence on acoustic diversity and soundscape quality. In addition, some participants may have mistaken the fountain sounds for distant road-traffic noise. Hence, when introducing a water feature in an urban park it is necessary to consider the acoustic characteristics of the water sounds, as well as the placement of the water feature.