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Volume 18
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Article

Revisiting the Concept of Quietness in the Urban Environment—Towards Ecosystems’ Health and Human Well-Being

by
Aggelos Tsaligopoulos
1,*,
Stella Kyvelou
2,
Nefta-Eleftheria Votsi
3,
Aimilia Karapostoli
4,
Chris Economou
1 and
Yiannis G. Matsinos
1
1
Acoustic Ecology Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece
2
Department of Economics and Regional Development, School of Sciences of Economics and Public Administration, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, 17671 Athens, Greece
3
Institute for Environmental Research & Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
4
School of Architectural Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, 67100 Xanthi, Greece
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 3151; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063151
Submission received: 25 February 2021 / Revised: 14 March 2021 / Accepted: 16 March 2021 / Published: 18 March 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Acoustics Assessments in Urban and Suburban Contexts)
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Abstract

There is plenty of proof that environmental noise is a major pollutant in the urban environment. Several approaches were successfully applied for its calculation, visualization, prediction and mitigation. The goal of all strategy plans regards its reduction and the creation of quietness. This study aims to revisit the concept of quietness in the urban environment and attempts to portray a new understanding of the specific phenomena. “Quietness” as a term retains an ambiguity, and so far, it can be described as the lack of something, meaning the lack of noise that is portrayed by means of intensity. Several studies describe quietness as the combination of perceptual soundscape elements and contextual factors that can be quantified, combined, weighed and used as indicators of healthy soundscapes. In this research, the focus is on setting aside all indicators, either measuring the intensity or contextual ones and use solely quantifiable metrics regarding the acoustic environment, thus introducing a new composite index called the composite urban quietness index (CUQI). After testing the CUQI, in order to verify the results of previous research regarding the identification of quiet Areas in the city of Mytilene (Lesbos Island, Greece), the study concludes that CUQI is efficiently functioning even in this early stage of development.
Keywords: environmental noise; quietness; acoustic environment; soundscape; composite index; urban quiet environmental noise; quietness; acoustic environment; soundscape; composite index; urban quiet

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MDPI and ACS Style

Tsaligopoulos, A.; Kyvelou, S.; Votsi, N.-E.; Karapostoli, A.; Economou, C.; Matsinos, Y.G. Revisiting the Concept of Quietness in the Urban Environment—Towards Ecosystems’ Health and Human Well-Being. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 3151. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063151

AMA Style

Tsaligopoulos A, Kyvelou S, Votsi N-E, Karapostoli A, Economou C, Matsinos YG. Revisiting the Concept of Quietness in the Urban Environment—Towards Ecosystems’ Health and Human Well-Being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(6):3151. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063151

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tsaligopoulos, Aggelos, Stella Kyvelou, Nefta-Eleftheria Votsi, Aimilia Karapostoli, Chris Economou, and Yiannis G. Matsinos. 2021. "Revisiting the Concept of Quietness in the Urban Environment—Towards Ecosystems’ Health and Human Well-Being" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 6: 3151. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063151

APA Style

Tsaligopoulos, A., Kyvelou, S., Votsi, N.-E., Karapostoli, A., Economou, C., & Matsinos, Y. G. (2021). Revisiting the Concept of Quietness in the Urban Environment—Towards Ecosystems’ Health and Human Well-Being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 3151. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063151

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