Urban Soundscape Assessment by Visually Impaired People: First Methodological Approach in Granada (Spain)

Vida, Jerónimo; Almagro, José Antonio; García-Quesada, Rafael; Aletta, Francesco; Oberman, Tin; Mitchell, Andrew; Kang, Jian

doi:10.3390/su132413867

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Urban Soundscape Assessment by Visually Impaired People: First Methodological Approach in Granada (Spain)

Jerónimo Vida

^1,*

José Antonio Almagro

Rafael García-Quesada

Francesco Aletta

⁴

Tin Oberman

⁴

Andrew Mitchell

⁴

and

Jian Kang

⁴

Applied Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

Scientific Instrumentation Center, CITIC, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

Building Construction Department, School of Architecture, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

⁴

Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, University College London, London WC1H 0NN, UK

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editors: Jooyoung Hong and Bhan Lam

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13867; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413867

Received: 3 November 2021 / Revised: 10 December 2021 / Accepted: 12 December 2021 / Published: 15 December 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)

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Abstract

Soundscape assessments by citizens are starting to emerge as a common practice, normally carried out in context by means of soundwalks along selected paths with volunteers. However, when such assessments are carried out, either in situ or in laboratory experiments, visually impaired citizens are not usually involved. To address this question, three soundwalks were carried out in 2020 in the city of Granada, in southern Spain, with the participation of visually impaired people. In this paper, we present the lessons learnt from this research with respect to the methodology issues that have to do with soundwalking and the surveying procedures when people with limited vison are participating, the assessment results, and a comparison with a soundscape evaluation carried out in 2019 without the collaboration of visually impaired people. The results of this preliminary campaign highlight that: (1) Adapting soundscape assessment protocols from standards for visually impaired people is a methodological challenge that requires research attention; (2) Some of the different patterns in the assessment of the soundscape pleasantness between visually impaired and nonvisually impaired participants emerged; (3) The perception of quietness may differ for visually impaired people when orientation and identification are factors that play a role in the acoustic environment evaluation. View Full-Text

Keywords: environmental noise; soundscape; perception; visually impaired; urban design

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MDPI and ACS Style

Vida, J.; Almagro, J.A.; García-Quesada, R.; Aletta, F.; Oberman, T.; Mitchell, A.; Kang, J. Urban Soundscape Assessment by Visually Impaired People: First Methodological Approach in Granada (Spain). Sustainability 2021, 13, 13867. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413867

AMA Style

Vida J, Almagro JA, García-Quesada R, Aletta F, Oberman T, Mitchell A, Kang J. Urban Soundscape Assessment by Visually Impaired People: First Methodological Approach in Granada (Spain). Sustainability. 2021; 13(24):13867. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413867

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vida, Jerónimo, José A. Almagro, Rafael García-Quesada, Francesco Aletta, Tin Oberman, Andrew Mitchell, and Jian Kang. 2021. "Urban Soundscape Assessment by Visually Impaired People: First Methodological Approach in Granada (Spain)" Sustainability 13, no. 24: 13867. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413867

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Urban Soundscape Assessment by Visually Impaired People: First Methodological Approach in Granada (Spain)

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