Soundscape Research in Streets: A Scoping Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- RQ1: The primary research question of this study is to identify which soundscape features have been investigated in street soundscape contexts and which are under-represented.
- Which streetscape features have been most frequently examined in the street soundscape literature, and which are under-represented? (RQ2)
- Which methodological approaches have been implemented in street soundscape studies? (RQ3)
2. Methods
- Focus on street soundscapes: The studies should address street soundscapes, not only from an acoustic perspective but also the perception of soundscapes in terms of various characteristics such as pleasantness, eventfulness, chaos, annoyance, or sound comfort.
- Investigation of streetscape features: The studies should include perceptions of visual street features, e.g., street furniture, vegetation, water features, lighting, and the effects of daily or seasonal changes.
- Focus on outdoor street spaces and determining sample size: The review is limited to studies investigating outdoor street environments. No specific street type (e.g., commercial streets, underground streets, or canyon streets) was targeted. The review encompasses all types of outdoor streets while excluding other public spaces. All selected studies must report the number of participants in the research.
3. Results
3.1. Search Strategy and Selection Process
3.2. Included Studies
3.3. Data Extraction
4. Discussion
4.1. First Research Question: What Type of Soundscape Features Have Been Investigated in the Street Soundscape Context, and Which Are Under-Represented?
4.2. Second Research Question: What Kind of Streetscape Features Are Most Frequently Examined in the Street Soundscape Literature? (RQ2)
4.3. Third Research Question: Which Methodological Approaches Have Been Implemented in Street Soundscape Studies?
4.4. Research Agenda
4.5. Limitations
5. Conclusions
- The most-studied aspects of sound perception were sound comfort, sound preference, pleasantness, and noise annoyance. Natural and traffic sounds are the main sources studied. In general, natural sound sources are related to positive perceptions, whereas traffic sounds are related to negative perceptions. Human-generated sounds and transportation sounds, like scooters, bicycles, and trains, have not been adequately studied. There is also a notable gap in understanding how street sounds influence different perceptions such as safety, eventfulness, and calmness.
- From the streetscape feature approach, the soundscape literature predominantly focuses on natural elements, such as vegetation and water features, and traffic-related elements. In general, natural elements are related to tranquillity and positive perceptions. In this scope, tree canopies, flowers, and vegetation elements are investigated. Traffic-related elements are generally investigated to determine the annoyance from traffic. Temporary changes in streets are investigated with tourist season changes and daily changes on streets. The results show that temporary changes influence people’s perception. Therefore, future research should investigate various other streetscape features, including physical street elements (lighting elements, urban furniture, etc.), speed perception, and temporary changes.
- The selected research methodologies predominantly employ questionnaires and laboratory-based methodologies within healthy adult groups. Overall, the number of study participants ranges between 10 and 1200 individuals. Only a limited number of physiological measurements are applied, such as HMD and fEMG. These findings emphasise the need for the implementation of more diverse physiological methods in future research. More representative samples need to be used to increase the generalisability of the results.
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Article Name | Focus of Study |
---|---|
Yilmaz et al., 2025 [27] | Aims to explore how natural features affect the perception of street canyons. |
Ahmed Sofi and Kadar Hamsa 2025 [28] | The study analyses the effect of road humps on actual and perceived traffic noise among residents. |
Nello-Deakin et al., 2024 [29] | Aims to understand the relationship between street pedestrianisation and perceived traffic calm among pedestrians. |
Nath et al., 2024 [30] | Evaluates the noise perceptions of residents and workers and associated annoyance. |
Leereveld et al., 2024 [4] | Assesses the relationship between the presence of outdoor vegetation and the level of noise annoyance. |
Kuratomo et al., 2023 [31] | Investigates how pedestrians can benefit from guiding sounds. |
Zhao et al., 2023 [32] | Aims to characterise soundscapes and visual elements. |
Yilmaz et al., 2023 [33] | Examines the influence of sound on the perception of enclosures in urban street canyons with varying height-to-width ratios. |
Ren et al., 2023 [25] | Examines the effect of audio–visual characteristics on environmental health. |
Abdul Hamid et al., 2023 [34] | Assesses visual perception factors in the soundscape of urban shopping streets. |
Li et al., 2022 [35] | Explores soundscape characteristics in public spaces and identifies factors influencing soundscape evaluations. |
Yilmaz et al., 2022 [36] | Examines the influence of natural sounds, such as water and birdsong, on the perception of enclosure in urban street canyons. |
Fu et al., 2022 [23] | Investigates the healing potential of different types of rural community streets based on visual characteristics. |
Jiang et al., 2018 [37] | Aims to understand how shared street design and traffic restrictions contribute to the soundscape and explores how street management scenarios relate to human experiences. |
Jiang et al., 2016 [38] | Examines how odours impact perceptions of noise, landscape, and the overall environment |
Han et al., 2011 [39] | Examines the effect of seasonal variations on audio–visual perceptions of residents. |
Soundscape Indicators | Streetscape Features | Methodological Scale | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Study Design | Sample Size | Physiological Response | |||
| Enclosure and pleasantness | Natural features | Laboratory, questionnaire | 40 | HMD, fEMG |
| Noise perception | Temporary changes (daytime changes), road hump | Questionnaire | 543 | |
| Noise perception | Architectural features (type of street), vehicle features (transportation type, transportation usage), human behaviour and presence. | Survey | 1211 | |
| Perception of noise pollution | Temporary changes (seasonal changes) | Questionnaire | 675 | |
| Pleasantness, eventfulness, tranquillity | Natural elements (sky, greenery) | Laboratory, questionnaire | 403 | |
| Sound comfort | Human behaviour and existence (flow of crowd) | Laboratory, questionnaire | 16 | |
| Annoyance, monotony, sound intensity, sound quality | Natural elements (parks, sky, vegetation), architectural features (buildings, highways, downtown), traffic features (car, truck, bus, motorcycle), human presence | Laboratory, field study | 300 | |
| Pleasantness, spaciousness, enclosure | Architectural features (urban canyon height to width) | Laboratory, questionnaire | 41 | HMD |
| Sound comfort, loudness, preference, and annoyance | Architectural features (building height, width of pedestrian space, spatial scale, building width, building form), natural elements (sky visibility, quantity of green areas, type of greenery) | Questionnaire, laboratory | 39 | |
| Appropriateness, eventfulness, calmness | Visual perception (interesting, beautiful, and harmonious), visual quality | Survey | 411 | |
| Perceptual assessment | Architectural features (elevated road), temporary changes, natural elements | Field study, questionnaire | 1159 | |
| Enclosure | Natural elements | Laboratory | 10 | HMD |
| Healing perception, subjective loudness | Natural elements, visual aesthetic | Laboratory, questionnaire | 57 | Pulse, systolic blood pressure |
| Pleasantness, exciting, chaotic, calmness, monotonous, eventfulness | Traffic features, natural elements, architectural features (street scale) | Laboratory, survey | 106 | |
| Noise annoyance, pleasantness | Traffic, environmental quality, natural elements | Laboratory, questionnaire | 20 | |
| Preference | Temporary (seasonal) changes, architectural features, natural elements | Survey | 45 |
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Ozturk, Z.S.; Kang, J.; Aletta, F. Soundscape Research in Streets: A Scoping Review. Sustainability 2025, 17, 3329. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083329
Ozturk ZS, Kang J, Aletta F. Soundscape Research in Streets: A Scoping Review. Sustainability. 2025; 17(8):3329. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083329
Chicago/Turabian StyleOzturk, Zeynep Sena, Jian Kang, and Francesco Aletta. 2025. "Soundscape Research in Streets: A Scoping Review" Sustainability 17, no. 8: 3329. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083329
APA StyleOzturk, Z. S., Kang, J., & Aletta, F. (2025). Soundscape Research in Streets: A Scoping Review. Sustainability, 17(8), 3329. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083329