Perception of urban park soundscape (original) (raw)

Skip Nav Destination

April 12 2012

Man Sze Tse;

Department of Building Services Engineering,

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

, Hung Hom, Kowloon,

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Search for other works by this author on:

Chi Kwan Chau;

Department of Building Services Engineering,

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

, Hung Hom, Kowloon,

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Search for other works by this author on:

Yat Sze Choy;

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

, Hung Hom, Kowloon,

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Search for other works by this author on:

Wai Keung Tsui;

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

, Hung Hom, Kowloon,

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Search for other works by this author on:

Chak Ngai Chan;

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

, Hung Hom, Kowloon,

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Search for other works by this author on:

Shiu Keung Tang

Department of Building Services Engineering,

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

, Hung Hom, Kowloon,

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Search for other works by this author on:

Crossmark: Check for Updates

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 131, 2762–2771 (2012)

A number of studies have been initiated to explore how to improve the soundscape quality in urban parks. However, good soundscape quality in parks cannot be provided without a thorough understanding of the complex relationships among sound, environment, and individuals. As acoustic comfort is considered to be an important outcome of soundscape quality, this study investigates the relative impacts of the factors influencing acoustic comfort evaluation by formulating a multivariate ordered logit model. This study also explores the inter-relationships among acoustic comfort evaluation, acceptability of the environment, and preference to stay in a park using a path model. A total of 595 valid responses were obtained from interview surveys administered in four parks in Hong Kong while objective sound measurements were carried out at the survey spots concurrently. The findings unveil that acoustic comfort evaluation, besides visual comfort evaluation of landscape, also plays an important role on users’ acceptability of the urban park environment. Compared with all the studied acoustic related factors, acoustic comfort evaluation serves as a better proxy for park users’ preference to stay in urban parks. Hearing the breeze will significantly increase the likelihood of individuals in giving high acoustic comfort evaluation. Conversely, hearing the sounds from heavy vehicles or sounds from bikes will significantly reduce the likelihood in giving a high acoustic evaluation.

REFERENCES

R. C.

Smardon

, “

Perception and aesthetics of the urban environment: Review of the role of vegetation

,”

Landsc. Urban Plann.

15

,

85

106

(

1988

).

J.

Downing

and

E.

Stunsick

, “

Measurement of the natural soundscape in national parks

,”

J. Acoust. Soc. Am.

108

,

2497

(

2000

).

J.

Gramann

, “

The effect of mechanical noise and natural sound on visitor experiences in units of the national park system

,”

Soc. Sci. Res.

1

16

(

1999

)

E. J.

Pilcher

,

P.

Newman

, and

R. E.

Manning

, “

Understanding and managing experiential aspects of soundscapes at Muir woods national monument

,”

Environ Manage.

43

,

425

435

(

2009

).

A. L.

Brown

and

A.

Muhar

, “

An approach to the acoustic design of outdoor space

,”

J. Environ. Plann. Manage.

47

,

827

842

(

2004

).

J.

Kang

,

Urban Sound Environment

(

Taylor and Francis

,

Abingdon, UK

,

2007

), p.

286

.

B.

Szeremeta

and

P. H. T.

Zannin

, “

Analysis and evaluation of soundscapes in public parks through interviews and measurement of noise

,”

Sci. Total Environ.

407

,

6143

6149

(

2009

).

M.

Zhang

and

J.

Kang

, “

Towards the evaluation, description, and creation of soundscapes in urban open spaces

,”

Environ. Plan. B: Plan. Des.

34

,

68

86

(

2007

).

M. E.

Nilsson

and

B.

Berglund

, “

Soundscape quality in suburban green areas and city parks

,”

Acta Acust. Acust.

92

,

903

911

(

2006

).

L.

Yu

and

J.

Kang

, “

Factors influencing the sound preference in urban open spaces

,”

Appl. Acoust.

71

,

622

633

(

2010

).

A. L.

Brown

,

J.

Kang

, and

T.

Gjestland

, “

Towards standardization in soundscape preference assessment

,”

Appl. Acoust.

72

,

387

392

(

2011

).

W.

Yang

and

J.

Kang

, “

Acoustic comfort evaluation in urban open public spaces

,”

Appl. Acoust.

66

,

211

229

(

2005

).

SPSS Inc.

,

PASW Statistics 18 Core System User’s Guide

(

SPSS Inc.

,

Chicago, IL

,

2009

), p.

424

.

W. H.

Greene

,

NLOGIT Version 4.0 Reference Guide

(

Econometric Software Inc.

,

Plainview, NY

,

2007

), p.

206

.

J. L.

Arbuckle

,

AMOS 18 User’s Guide

(

SPSS Inc.

,

Chicago, IL

,

2009

), p.

654

.

P. S.

Mann

and

C. J.

Lacke

,

Introductory Statistics

(

Wiley and Sons

,

New York

,

2010

), Chap. 8.

D. G.

Kleinbaum

and

M.

Klein

,

Logistic Regression: A Self-Learning Text

, 3rd ed. (

Springer

,

Berlin

,

2010

), p.

701

.

K.

Manderbacka

,

I.

Kåreholt

,

P.

Martikainen

, and

O.

Lundberg

, “

The effect of point of reference on the association between self-rated health and mortality

,”

Soc. Sci. Med.

56

,

1447

1452

(

2003

).

D. A.

Hensher

,

J. M.

Rose

, and

W. H.

Greene

,

Applied Choice Analysis: A Primer

(

Cambridge University Press

,

Cambridge, UK

,

2005

), p.

717

.

M.

Hardy

and

A.

Bryman

,

Handbook of Data Analysis

(

Sage Publications

,

London

,

2004

), p.

704

.

R. B.

Kline

,

Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling

, 2nd ed. (

The Guilford Press

,

New York

,

2005

), Chap. 2.

S.

Choo

and

P.

Mokhtarian

, “

Telecommunications and travel demand and supply: Aggregate structural equation models for the US

,”

Transp. Res. A Pol.

41

,

4

18

(

2007

).

P. M.

Bentler

and

D. G.

Weeks

, “

Linear structural equations with latent variables

,”

Psychometrika

45

,

289

308

(

1980

).

K.

Izumi

and

T.

Yano

, “

Community responses to road traffic noise: Social surveys in three cities in Hokkaido

,”

J. Sound Vib.

151

,

505

512

(

1991

).

Y.

Osada

,

T.

Yoshida

,

K.

Yoshida

,

T.

Kawaguch

,

Y.

Hoshiyama

, and

K.

Yamamoto

, “

Path analysis of the community response to road traffic noise

,”

J. Sound Vib.

205

,

493

498

(

1997

).

S. M.

Taylor

, “

A path model of aircraft noise annoyance

,”

J. Sound Vib.

96

,

243

260

(

1984

)

D. M.

Hussey

and

P. D.

Eagan

, “

Using structural equation modeling to test environmental performance in small and medium-sized manufacturers: can SEM help SMEs?

,”

J. Cleaner Prod.

15

,

303

312

(

2007

).

E. K.

Kelloway

,

Using LISREL for Structural Equation Modeling: A Researcher’s Guide

(

Sage Publications

,

Thousand Oaks

,

1998

), Chap. 3.

J. F. J.

Hair

,

R. E.

Anderson

,

R. L.

Tatham

, and

W. C.

Black

,

Multivariate Data Analysis

(

Prentice Hall

,

Upper Saddle River, NJ

,

1988

), Chap. 12.

P.

Woods

,

H. J.

Wynne

,

H. W.

Ploeger

, and

D. K.

Leonard

, “

Path analysis of subsistence farmers’ use of veterinary services in Zimbabwe

,”

Prev. Vet. Med.

61

,

339

358

(

2003

).

K.

Lam

,

P.

Chan

,

T.

Chan

,

W.

Au

, and

W.

Hui

, “

Annoyance response to mixed transportation noise in Hong Kong

,”

Appl. Acoust.

70

,

1

10

(

2009

).

E.

Pedersen

and

P.

Larsman

, “

The impact of visual factors on noise annoyance among people living in the vicinity of wind turbines

,”

J. Environ. Psychol.

28

,

379

389

(

2008

).

S.

Viollon

,

C.

Lavandier

, and

C.

Drake

, “

Influence of visual setting on sound ratings in an urban environment

,”

Appl. Acoust.

63

,

493

511

(

2002

).

S.

Viollon

and

C.

Lavandier

, “

Influence of the visual information on the auditory perception of the urban environment

,” in

Internoise

(

Budapest

,

Hungary

,

1997

), pp.

1167

1170

.

L. D.

Marin

,

P.

Newman

,

R. E.

Manning

,

J. J.

Vaske

, and

D.

Stack

, “

Motivation and acceptability norms of human-caused sound in Muir Woods National Monument

,”

Leisure Sci.

33

,

147

161

(

2011

).

S. R.

Payne

, “

Are perceived soundscapes within urban parks restorative

,”

J. Acoust. Soc. Am.

123

,

3809

(

2008

)

C.

Guastavino

, “

The ideal urban soundscape: Investigating the sound quality of french cities

,”

Acta Acust. Acust.

92

,

945

951

(

2006

)

J. Y.

Jeon

,

P. J.

Lee

,

J.

You

, and

J.

Kang

, “

Perceptual assessment of quality of urban soundscapes with combined noise sources and water sounds

,”

J. Acoust. Soc. Am.

127

,

1357

1366

(

2010

).

© 2012 Acoustical Society of America.

2012

Acoustical Society of America

You do not currently have access to this content.

Sign in

Sign In

You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.

Username ?

Password

Pay-Per-View Access

$40.00