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Sustainability
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Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes
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Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 26025

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jooyoung Hong

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Guest Editor
Assistant Professor (Ph.D.), Department of Architectural Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea
Interests: environmental acoustics; soundscape; building acoustics; urban planning virtual reality; environmental psychology
Dr. Bhan Lam

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Research Fellow, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Interests: active noise control; spatial audio; digital signal processing; environmental noise; mixed reality; soundscape; audio engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions for the Special Issue “Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes”, which aims to gather research results concerning urban soundscape research, education, and design. The urban acoustic environment is one of the critical environmental factors in judging the quality of life. According to the World Health Organization, environmental noise pollution generated by urban transportation or industrial facilities may cause adverse psychological and physiological effects on human health. Thus, it is important to design a sustainable urban acoustic environment to promote healthy and supportive urban spaces.

 

However, acoustic comfort in an urban environment cannot be achieved by the conventional noise control approach, which focuses on reducing overall sound levels in decibels. This is because sound pressure levels (indicating the intensity of sounds) are limited in representing human acoustic comfort due to the complicated interaction between sounds and human auditory perception. In this context, the notion of soundscape—the acoustic analogy to landscape—has emerged as a new paradigm for rethinking the conventional noise control approaches by emphasizing a holistic perspective of the perceived acoustic environments in a given context. Soundscape approaches, embedding “sound” into the broader framework of urban planning and design, focus on human-centered and context-based designs that consider people’s perceptions, needs, socio-cultural background, and expectations in relation to their acoustic environment.

 

Although the body of literature and multi-disciplinary research on soundscape has been growing in the last two decades, there is still a strong need to bridge the gap between academia and practice by providing a holistic framework of urban soundscape education, research, and design. For this reason, we are launching this call for a Special Issue on Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscape. This Special Issue will include a collection of original research articles, soundscape education, design practices, technical notes, and review papers on the following list of topics:

  • Community noise;
  • Environmental noise;
  • Soundscape design;
  • Soundscape mapping;
  • Education in soundscape;
  • Psychoacoustics for soundscape;
  • Multisensory interactions in soundscapes;
  • Machine/deep learning application for soundscape;
  • Sustainable urban acoustic management and policy;
  • Virtual/augmented/mixed reality in urban soundscape;
  • Tools for soundscape evaluation and design;
  • Psycho-physiological-behavioral approaches in soundscape.

Dr. Jooyoung Hong
Dr. Bhan Lam
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Environmental sounds
  • Community noise
  • Urban sound planning
  • Psycho-physiological impacts of sounds
  • Soundscape design
  • Soundscape education
  • Soundscape mapping
  • Urban sound monitoring systems
  • Acoustic sensors networks
  • Virtual/augmented/mixed reality

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 19136 KiB  
Article
Designing Public Soundscapes through Social Architecture and Soundscape Approaches: Reflective Review of Architectural Design Studio
by Joo-Young Hong and Keng Hua Chong
Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12399; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612399 - 15 Aug 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6146
Abstract
This paper provides a reflective review of an architectural design studio that utilized both social architecture and soundscape approaches to create human-centered and context-based designs for urban public spaces. During field research, students in the studio analyzed four different public spaces in Marina [...] Read more.
This paper provides a reflective review of an architectural design studio that utilized both social architecture and soundscape approaches to create human-centered and context-based designs for urban public spaces. During field research, students in the studio analyzed four different public spaces in Marina Central BID, Singapore, employing a combination of social architecture (behavioral trace and activity mapping) and soundscape (acoustic measurement and soundwalk) methods. Through this process, the students identified issues related to social architecture and soundscapes and developed soundscape design strategies to improve the quality of the public spaces. The soundscape design strategies were categorized into three groups: the introduction of desirable sounds, the reinforcement of desired sounds, and the reduction in unwanted sounds. This paper shows that the integration of social architecture into soundscape design education enables students to better comprehend the social–behavioral aspects of the environment and create more comprehensive and enjoyable public soundscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)
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22 pages, 6542 KiB  
Article
Singapore Soundscape Site Selection Survey (S5): Identification of Characteristic Soundscapes of Singapore via Weighted k-Means Clustering
by Kenneth Ooi, Bhan Lam, Joo-Young Hong, Karn N. Watcharasupat, Zhen-Ting Ong and Woon-Seng Gan
Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7485; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127485 - 19 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3194
Abstract
The ecological validity of soundscape studies usually rests on the choice of soundscapes that are representative of the perceptual space under investigation. For example, a soundscape pleasantness study might investigate locations with soundscapes ranging from “pleasant” to “annoying”. The choice of soundscapes is [...] Read more.
The ecological validity of soundscape studies usually rests on the choice of soundscapes that are representative of the perceptual space under investigation. For example, a soundscape pleasantness study might investigate locations with soundscapes ranging from “pleasant” to “annoying”. The choice of soundscapes is typically researcher led, but a participant-led process can reduce selection bias and improve result reliability. Hence, we propose a robust participant-led method to pinpoint characteristic soundscapes possessing arbitrary perceptual attributes. We validate our method by identifying Singaporean soundscapes spanning the perceptual quadrants generated from the “Pleasantness” and “Eventfulness” axes of the ISO 12913-2 circumplex model of soundscape perception, as perceived by local experts. From memory and experience, 67 participants first selected locations corresponding to each perceptual quadrant in each major planning region of Singapore. We then performed weighted k-means clustering on the selected locations, with weights for each location derived from previous frequencies and durations spent in each location by each participant. Weights hence acted as proxies for participant confidence. In total, 62 locations were thereby identified as suitable locations with characteristic soundscapes for further research utilizing the ISO 12913-2 perceptual quadrants. Audio–visual recordings and acoustic characterization of the soundscapes will be made in a future study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)
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14 pages, 4459 KiB  
Article
Acoustic Retrofit Approach of an Apartment Living Room Using Multi-Perforated Gypsum Boards in Terms of Heavy-Weight Impact Sounds
by Yong-Hee Kim
Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5007; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095007 - 21 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2652
Abstract
In this study, the effects of multi-perforated gypsum boards on floor impact noises were investigated in a box-type test building and an actual apartment building. In a box-type test building with 150 mm thick slab, various design factors such as hole pattern, hole [...] Read more.
In this study, the effects of multi-perforated gypsum boards on floor impact noises were investigated in a box-type test building and an actual apartment building. In a box-type test building with 150 mm thick slab, various design factors such as hole pattern, hole size, opening ratio, backing, or finishing materials were considered. Heavy-weight impact sources of bang machine and rubber ball were employed. The test procedure followed KS F 2810-2, and then, a single number rating was derived in accordance with KS F 2863-2. As a result, reduction of heavy-weight impact noise by applying multi-perforated gypsum boards as a ceiling material was expected maximumly up to 3 dB for bang machine and 5 dB for rubber ball. Regarding the reduction of floor impact sounds at frequencies above 125 Hz, the installed area of the employed multi-perforated gypsum board was shown as the most dominant factor. Then, an in situ investigation using standard impact sources and five children was carried out in an actual living space of an actual apartment dwelling unit. Comparing before and after installation of multi-perforated gypsum board, 1–2 dB of heavy-weight impact noises was reduced. In addition, subjective impressions of the reduced impact noise were discussed based on the field questionnaire survey using actual children’s running situations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)
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17 pages, 735 KiB  
Article
Festivals and Events as Everyday Life in Montreal’s Entertainment District
by Edda Bild, Daniel Steele and Catherine Guastavino
Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4559; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084559 - 11 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2764
Abstract
Cities struggle to balance vitality and livability, and noise is at the center of many of these debates. Preconceived ideas on the sonic expectations and needs of groups of city users can be misleading, particularly in entertainment districts such as the Quartier des [...] Read more.
Cities struggle to balance vitality and livability, and noise is at the center of many of these debates. Preconceived ideas on the sonic expectations and needs of groups of city users can be misleading, particularly in entertainment districts such as the Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal (CA). We investigated what life was like in QDS for its year-round users during the 2019 festival season (the last before the COVID-19 pandemic), building on insights from residents, workers and visitors collected through online surveys. Respondents described an overall positive view of their district marked by a diversity of experiences and frustrations, with subtle intragroup differences between residents and workers. Age was an important variable framing these experiences, but unexpectedly, older respondents enjoyed their life in QDS just as much as younger users. Dissatisfaction with residing or working in QDS was rarely geared toward the frequency or loudness of festivals, but rather to other everyday life situations. Emergent from the data, we argued for the development of soundscape personas to refer to typologies of users whose experiences differ in terms of sonic priorities and evaluations. Our findings could inform strategies for organizing large events in urban areas, maintaining an awareness of diversity of users. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)
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15 pages, 1260 KiB  
Article
Integrating Soundscape Criteria in Urban Sustainable Regeneration Processes: An Example of Comfort and Health Improvement
by Karmele Herranz-Pascual, Ioseba Iraurgi, Itziar Aspuru, Igone Garcia-Pérez, Alvaro Santander and José Luis Eguiguren
Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3143; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063143 - 8 Mar 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3606
Abstract
This paper reports an example of an urban sustainable regeneration process in a small open square following the soundscape approach in urban design and involving a transdisciplinary team. The renovation of this urban public space brought changes in its acoustic environment and improved [...] Read more.
This paper reports an example of an urban sustainable regeneration process in a small open square following the soundscape approach in urban design and involving a transdisciplinary team. The renovation of this urban public space brought changes in its acoustic environment and improved soundscape perception as much more pleasant (enhanced comfort). The rehabilitation broadened the use of the square and enhanced users’ wellbeing and health, showing a significant positive impact of sound: reduction in negative emotions and perceived stress while increasing positive feelings. To conclude, the implications of the results about restorative environments in urban sound planning and future areas of research are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)
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24 pages, 15495 KiB  
Article
Urban Soundscape Assessment by Visually Impaired People: First Methodological Approach in Granada (Spain)
by Jerónimo Vida, José Antonio Almagro, Rafael García-Quesada, Francesco Aletta, Tin Oberman, Andrew Mitchell and Jian Kang
Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13867; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413867 - 15 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2915
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)
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11 pages, 2255 KiB  
Perspective
On the Opportunities of the Soundscape Approach to Revitalise Acoustics Training in Undergraduate Architectural Courses
by Jieling Xiao, Francesco Aletta and Islah Ali-Maclachlan
Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 1957; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14041957 - 9 Feb 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2885
Abstract
Soundscape research has been gaining prominence in studies on the built environment. The soundscape concept is defined as the acoustic environment as perceived and/or understood by a person in context. Compared with traditional building acoustics, the soundscape concept brings interesting perspectives—but also challenges—for [...] Read more.
Soundscape research has been gaining prominence in studies on the built environment. The soundscape concept is defined as the acoustic environment as perceived and/or understood by a person in context. Compared with traditional building acoustics, the soundscape concept brings interesting perspectives—but also challenges—for undergraduate architectural curricula, where it tries to strike a balance between qualitative and quantitative methodologies, a theoretical approach that in the context of soundscape studies it is often referred to as ‘triangulation’. Starting from real-world higher education courses, the aim of this paper is to examine how the soundscape approach can be integrated into teaching building acoustics at the undergraduate level in architectural courses. Methods such as soundwalks, acoustic measurements, and computational simulations that are commonly used in soundscape research are introduced in educational projects as tools for students to experience, analyse, and articulate the narrative around the sound environment to inform their design concepts and details. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Designing Sustainable Urban Soundscapes)
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