Mapping the sonic attributes: an acoustic approach for studying space (original) (raw)

Cartographic Representation of the Sonic Environment

Cartographic Journal, 2009

The description of the landscape is based on the visualization of geographic features and the representation of their attributes. Although sound is a major component of any environment, its cartographic representation is limited mainly on noise mapping and in urban or suburban areas. Soundscape is a term that describes the acoustic relation between the environment and the individual in a landscape context, considering all kinds of interactions between space, sound and humans. The representation of the soundscape at a spatial level would support many applications such as geographic analysis, ecosystem evaluation, environmental education, landscape management, urban or rural planning and protection of sonic particularities. This paper proposes a methodology for the mapping of both quantitative and qualitative attributes of a rural soundscape, which is described through the study of the acoustic environment around a protected wetland in Greece.

Discrete mapping of urban soundscapes

2004

Since the introduction of the EU directive of 25 June 2002 there has been a profusion of research grants and public-sector spending on quantitative acoustic maps. But what are they going to be used for? Who is going to consult them? Will they serve as the basis for upgrading our urban soundscapes? There is every reason to doubt this. This article reports on work that could form the starting point of a vast research drive to build sound maps of a new sort, maps that are more descriptive and able to supplement the information provided by mapping of acoustic measurements.

An Investigation on Urban Soundscape Essentials in Ecological Acoustics

Journal of Green Engineering (JGE), 2020

The goal of the current survey is to grasp how the utilization of the idea of sound scapes can help in considering encompassing sound situations in better places. Sound is a huge attribute of the prominence of the urban open air biological system. Inside the field of ecological acoustics, urban sound scape study implies a respectably current however fundamental hypothesis change, which continues from the perspective that a reasonable acoustic condition may inspiringly affect the prosperity of masses and visitors. With the appearance of novel methodologies and techniques for practical ruralisation of open air zones, and with the utilization of mimicked/expanded authenticity procedures turning out to be increasingly broad, research centrality in the preliminary of forming the acoustic air of urban open spaces has expanded significantly. The motivation behind urban open spots is characteristically accomplished by draftsmen and urban organizers, which regularly just accentuation on the graphical feel of the urban space. However, an outwardly appealing open space made arrangements for mitigating will be underused in the event that it sounds cruel. Ideally, sound-related plan ought to be durable with visual structure, an essential the sound scape methodology responses. The present tendency of co-making the urban space made with all investors, including neighborhood occupants, opens up new possibilities to represent all thanks in the urban plan movement. Deplorably, draftsmen and urban proposers ‗scuffle to join the sound scape technique in the urban plan procedure and use in the circumstance of co-creation. Along these lines, this survey intends to assemble accessible exploration on the sound scape approach versus urban arranging, in explicit.

Understanding urban and natural soundscapes

The concept of soundscape has garnered increasing research attention over the last decade for studying and designing the sonic environment of public spaces. It is therefore critical to advance knowledge on how the soundscape of a place is evoked by its sonic environment, given visual, cultural, and situational contexts. Working Group 1 of the COST action "Soundscapes of European cities and landscapes" revolves around this question. In our current understanding the sounds that are heard during normal activities in a place trigger meaning and emotions based on the matching with expectations of the people using and acting in that place. This complete package of human experience in relation to the sonic environment can be named the soundscape. In terms of design, this understanding opens several opportunities. The designer can decide which sounds should be heard and try to make this happen by guiding the attention to particular sounds or simply remove, add or shape sounds. In doing so, he or she should keep in mind expectations of the local users. Expectations and meaning might be changed by suitable design of non-sonic features of the environment including besides the obvious visual context also the openness, lighting, local climate, etc. Bringing these concepts to practice requires new tools and methodologies.

The application of the soundscape approach in the evaluation of the urban public spaces

Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2008

An important issue in the development of European cities is the design and renovation of the urban public areas. Typically, a broad variety of approaches (sociological, ecological, environmental, physical, etc.) is needed and earlier studies have shown the necessity of the transversal multi-disciplinary approach in this issue. In order to study the acoustical dimension, the concept of soundscape needs to be proposed and elaborated. The soundscape approach differs from the classical statistical noise analysis in the evaluation of a context-related noise and in the extrapolation of environmental sounds in its complexity. Nowadays, even by using recently developed sophisticated acoustical and psycho-acoustical measurable and quantifiable parameters, it still remains difficult to grasp the complete meaning of a soundscape in words only or by numbers only. Our hypothesis is that the description of the city soundscape might be successfully done by combination of acoustical numbers and words.

A geographical information system of the qualitative sound environment

2000

For some years, noise has preoccupied the inhabitants of French cities. Surveys have made it clear that the sound environment is one of the main sources of dissatisfaction in urban areas, however, they have shown that the tools which urban planners dispose of (mainly based on the quantitative estimation of noise levels) are generally judged insufficient to apprehend and manage the sonorous situation in its complexity. In consequence, new research perspectives are currently leading urban developers to take into account qualitative data, in order to better apprehend the relationship of inhabitants with their sound environment. The first works of Jean-Francois Augoyard at the CRESSON 1 date from 1979. Since then, research in this domain has always been fruitful. Based on interdisciplinary methods, it has led to a better understanding of the relations citizens possess with their sound environment and has given experienced planners food for thought. However, at the very moment when the d...