Showing papers on "Soundscape published in 2016"

Chatty maps: constructing sound maps of urban areas from social media data.

Abstract: Urban sound has a huge influence over how we perceive places. Yet, city planning is concerned mainly with noise, simply because annoying sounds come to the attention of city officials in the form of complaints, whereas general urban sounds do not come to the attention as they cannot be easily captured at city scale. To capture both unpleasant and pleasant sounds, we applied a new methodology that relies on tagging information of georeferenced pictures to the cities of London and Barcelona. To begin with, we compiled the first urban sound dictionary and compared it with the one produced by collating insights from the literature: ours was experimentally more valid (if correlated with official noise pollution levels) and offered a wider geographical coverage. From picture tags, we then studied the relationship between soundscapes and emotions. We learned that streets with music sounds were associated with strong emotions of joy or sadness, whereas those with human sounds were associated with joy or surprise. Finally, we studied the relationship between soundscapes and people's perceptions and, in so doing, we were able to map which areas are chaotic, monotonous, calm and exciting. Those insights promise to inform the creation of restorative experiences in our increasingly urbanized world.

Temporal patterns in the soundscape of the shallow waters of a Mediterranean marine protected area

Abstract: The study of marine soundscapes is an emerging field of research that contributes important information about biological compositions and environmental conditions. The seasonal and circadian soundscape trends of a marine protected area (MPA) in the Mediterranean Sea have been studied for one year using an autonomous acoustic recorder. Frequencies less than 1 kHz are dominated by noise generated by waves and are louder during the winter; conversely, higher frequencies (4-96 kHz) are dominated by snapping shrimp, which increase their acoustic activity at night during the summer. Fish choruses, below 2 kHz, characterize the soundscape at sunset during the summer. Because there are 13 vessel passages per hour on average, causing acoustic interference with fish choruses 46% of the time, this MPA cannot be considered to be protected from noise. On the basis of the high seasonal variability of the soundscape components, this study proposes a one-year acoustic monitoring protocol using the soundscape methodology approach and discusses the concept of MPA size.

The acoustic communities: Definition, description and ecological role.

Abstract: An acoustic community is defined as an aggregation of species that produces sound by using internal or extra-body sound-producing tools. Such communities occur in aquatic (freshwater and marine) and terrestrial environments. An acoustic community is the biophonic component of a soundtope and is characterized by its acoustic signature, which results from the distribution of sonic information associated with signal amplitude and frequency. Distinct acoustic communities can be described according to habitat, the frequency range of the acoustic signals, and the time of day or the season. Near and far fields can be identified empirically, thus the acoustic community can be used as a proxy for biodiversity richness. The importance of ecoacoustic research is rapidly growing due to the increasing awareness of the intrusion of anthropogenic sounds (technophonies) into natural and human-modified ecosystems and the urgent need to adopt more efficient predictive tools to compensate for the effects of climate change. The concept of an acoustic community provides an operational scale for a non-intrusive biodiversity survey and analysis that can be carried out using new passive audio recording technology, coupled with methods of vast data processing and storage.

Temporal and spatial variation of a winter soundscape in south-central Alaska

Abstract: Winter soundscapes are likely different from soundscapes in other seasons considering wildlife vocalizations (biophony) decrease, wind events (geophony) increase, and winter vehicle noise (technophony) occurs. The temporal variation and spatial relationships of soundscape components to the landscape in winter have not been quantified and described until now. Our objectives were to determine the temporal and spatial variation and acoustic–environmental relationships of a winter soundscape in south-central Alaska. We recorded ambient sounds at 62 locations throughout Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (December 2011–April 2012). We calculated the normalized power spectral density in 59,597 recordings and used machine learning to determine acoustic–environmental relationships and produce spatial models of soundscape components. Geophony was the most prevalent component (84 %) followed by technophony (15 %), and biophony (1 %). Geophony occurred primarily at night, varied little by month, and was strongly associated with lakes. Technophony and biophony had similar temporal variation, peaking in April. Technophony occurred closer to urban areas and at locations with high snowmobile activity. Biophony occurred closer to rivers and was inversely related to snowmobile activity. Over 75 % of sample sites had >1 recordings of airplane or snowmobile noise, mainly in remote areas. The soundscape displayed distinct patterns across 24-h and monthly timeframes. These patterns were strongly associated with land cover variables which demonstrate discrete acoustic–environmental relationships exhibiting distinct spatial patterns in the landscape. Despite the predominance of geophony, the presence of technophony in this winter soundscape may have significant negative effects to wildlife and wilderness quality.

The Role of Soundscape in Nature-Based Rehabilitation: A Patient Perspective.

Abstract: Nature-based rehabilitation (NBR) has convincing support in research, yet the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The present study sought to increase understanding of the role of soundscapes in NBR, an aspect paid little attention thus far. Transcribed interviews with 59 patients suffering from stress-related mental disorders and undergoing a 12-week therapy programme in the rehabilitation garden in Alnarp, Sweden, were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis (IPA). Described sounds were categorised as natural, technological or human. The results showed that patients frequently referred to natural sounds as being part of a pleasant and “quiet” experience that supported recovery and induced “soft fascination”. Technological sounds were experienced as disturbing, while perception of human sounds varied depending on loudness and the social context. The study further uncovered how sound influenced patients’ behaviour and experiences in the garden, through examination of three cross-theme dimensions that materialised in the study; sound in relation to overall perception, sound in relation to garden usage, and increased susceptibility to sound. The findings are discussed in relation to NBR; the need for a more nuanced understanding of susceptibility to sound among people suffering from mental fatigue was identified and design considerations for future rehabilitation gardens were formulated.

The Influence of Natural Sounds on Attention Restoration

Abstract: Parks and protected areas offer refuge from the fatigue of daily life. An existing body of literature provides evidence that experiences in nature can promote restoration and improve overall health and well-being. Previous research on sounds in national parks has determined that manmade sounds negatively impact visitors’ enjoyment, as well as, their assessment of the landscape. Additionally, previous studies have indicated that experiencing the restorative sounds of nature is important to visitors in national parks, and despite the growing body of protected area soundscape-focused research, very little attention has been placed on the relationship between natural sounds and cognitive health. As anthropogenic sounds and human-caused noise continues to increase in national parks, it is imperative to understand how these sounds influence visitor experience. This laboratory simulation aimed to increase understanding regarding the positive effects of natural sound on attention restoration. Using an experimental design, the researchers tested the effects of natural and anthropogenic sound, on attention restoration by having participants complete cognitive tasks after exposure to various sound clips or with no sound present. Based on previous studies, the researchers hypothesized that participants exposed to a natural sound condition would score higher on a cognitive task than those exposed to anthropogenic sound conditions. The relationship in mean cognitive performance scores between participants in the natural, anthropogenic, and control sound conditions were found to be approaching statistical significance. Findings suggested that participants who received the natural sound condition outperformed those in the no sound or control condition. Results from the study indicate that natural sounds can potentially facilitate attention restoration. Outcomes of this study provide a better understanding of how parks can serve holistically as places for human, environmental, and ecological health, as specifically measured through the role of natural sounds on recovery from mental fatigue. In addition, gaining a better understanding of the benefits natural sounds can have on restoration from mental fatigue will further validate the protection of park soundscapes. Finally, this research will help park and protected area managers, specific programs and initiatives, such as the Healthy Parks Healthy People and the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, develop plans and policies that aim to provide visitors with a beneficial, cognitively restorative soundscape experience.

An Experimental Study on the Influence of Soundscapes on People’s Behaviour in an Open Public Space

Abstract: Several studies have investigated how environmental sounds and music can modulate people’s behaviours, particularly in marketing research. However, there are relatively few examples of research about such relationships with a focus on the management of urban public spaces. The current study investigated an open public space used mainly as a pedestrian crossing to analyse the relationship between the audio stimuli and peoples’ behaviours. An experiment relying on covert behavioural observation was performed. During the experiment, three different music stimuli and a control condition (i.e., no music) were reproduced in order to find out firstly whether music compared to no music could elicit an increase in the number of people stopping in the investigated area, and secondly whether music is associated with a longer duration of stay for those who stop. Results showed that the presence of music had no effect on the number of people stopping in the area, but it had a statistically significant effect on the duration of stay for those who stopped. The above findings support the idea that people felt more invited to stay in the area with music rather than with no music, and suggest that the acoustical manipulation of the existing sound environment could provide soundscape strategies capable of promoting social cohesion in public spaces.

Analysing Sound Environment and Architectural Characteristics of Libraries through Indoor Soundscape Framework

Abstract: This study presents the indoor soundscape framework in detail by describing the variables and factors that form an indoor soundscape study. The main objective is to introduce a new indoor soundscaping framework and systematically explain the variables that contribute to the overall evaluation of an indoor soundscape. Hence, the dependencies of physical and psychoacoustical factors of the sound environment and the spatial factors of the built entity are statistically tested. The new indoor soundscaping framework leads to an overarching evaluation perspective of enclosed sound environments, combining objective room acoustics research and noise control engineering with architectural analysis. Therefore, it is hypothesised that case spaces with certain plan organisations, volumetric relations, and spatial referencing lead to differentiated sound pressure level (SPL) and loudness (N) values. SPL and N parametric variances of the sound environments are discussed through the statistical findings with respect to the architectural characteristics of each library case space. The results show that the relation between crowd level variances and sound environment parametric values is statistically significant. It is also found that increasing the atrium height and atrium void volume, the atrium’s presence as a common architectural element, and its interpenetrating reference and domain containment results in unwanted variances and acoustic formations, leading to high SPL and N values.

A soundscape approach to exploring design strategies for acoustic comfort in modern public libraries: a case study of the Library of Birmingham

Abstract: Abstract Taking the soundscape approach to a study of the Library of Birmingham, this paper explored acoustic comfort in modern public libraries and measured the quality of the perceived sound environment, focusing on the appropriateness of the spatial organisation to facilitate users’ activities of reading and writing. The research involved four groups of participants taking soundwalks which provided data at four main floors in the Library, identifying types of sounds, measuring sound pressure levels and evaluating the overall quality and appropriateness of perceived sound environment. A human sound dominated sound environment was found in the studied case. The overall soundscape quality varied among different levels and different functional spaces. However, the results showed that the overall soundscape quality of each floor varied and was not necessarily determined by the overall appropriateness and sound pressure level. The participants in the study were found influenced by their soundscape cognitions of spaces through visual and acoustic perceptions, as well as by their purposes of using the space. From these results, the layout of spaces is suggested as a determining factor of acoustic comfort, and design strategies were discussed to achieve acoustic comfort in modern public libraries.

The Sounds of Climate Change: Sonic Rhetoric in the Anthropocene, the Age of Human Impact

Abstract: Because of its temporal and vibrational qualities, sound is a particularly useful rhetorical resource for communicating our currently volatile experiences of climate change and extinction. A critical sonic rhetoric moves us from a disembodied marketplace of ideas to an immersive, interdependent soundscape. This move is exemplified in the work of sound artists Susan Philipsz and Bernie Krause, which provides experiences of surface time (sounds arising and decaying) and what climate change scholars call “deep time” (species coming and going from the earth), along with the affective dimensions of nostalgia and grief that saturate these experiences with individual and cultural meaning.

Voices from the War: Design as a Means of Understanding the Experience of Visiting Heritage

Abstract: We use design research to explore ways in which tangible and embodied interaction can be used to create novel experiences of heritage. We identified five design principles and used them to frame the challenge. In collaboration with curators, we co-created an interactive multi-narrative soundscape for the remains of trenches and a fortified camp from World War I. The soundscape is activated by presence and the use of a bespoke device. The design intertwines technology and historical content in context to augment the visitors' experience of the place in an evocative, personal way. The field trial showed that experimenting with different forms is key, as they have an impact on visitors' expectations beyond what they experience directly. It also showed the value in simultaneously designing interaction and content to achieve an effect that goes beyond the contribution of the single components.

Protecting contemporary cultural soundscapes as intangible cultural heritage: sounds of Istanbul

Abstract: This paper aims to evaluate culture and traditions of everyday life from a sonic perspective and to suggest ways for protecting characteristic sounds and soundscapes. This multidisciplinary research, having roots in such fields as soundscape studies, intangible cultural heritage (ICH), museum studies and sensory studies, explores the larger contemporary cultural soundscape of Istanbul. This paper also draws on the project The Soundscape of Istanbul (https://soundscapeofistanbul.ku.edu.tr/), which is archiving the contemporary elements of the cultural soundscape of Istanbul that were determined by public contribution, and outlines examples from this collection. Sounds constitute an inevitable part of daily life and are therefore very important as ICH. Thus, they deserve to be protected to strengthen cultural memory. However, sonic culture is twice endangered due to the physical characteristics of sound itself and the dynamic structure of intangible culture. Therefore, urgent protection of contempor...

Urban soundscapes: a quasi-experiment in landscape architecture

Abstract: Soundscapes are becoming increasingly recognised as significant for sustainable development, since they involve issues of health and quality of life. With this in mind, the present study aims to further our understanding of how urban soundscapes can be altered through design of outdoor space. The study took the form of a quasi-experiment on an urban square, involving sound screens covered with ivy to form a small arbour. Assessment was effected using a mixed-method approach that included measurements of sound pressure levels as well as self-reports from (in total) 205 visitors (198 questionnaires and 9 semi-structured interviews were used for analysis). The findings reveal that the arbour improved the soundscape. This effect was further enhanced when forest sounds were added through loudspeakers, underlining the importance of qualitative considerations. The study additionally highlights potential applications of soundscape design, by examining a number of issues encountered during the project in r...

CITI-SENSE: methods and tools for empoweringcitizens to observe acoustic comfort in outdoorpublic spaces

Abstract: Abstract The purpose of this research was to design and deploy tools that apply the concept of citizen observatories and empowering citizens in the assessment of acoustic comfort in public places. The research applies an iterative cycle of design and this article presents the results of a demonstrative experiment carried out in situ using the first products developed. This work was undertaken as part of the CITI-SENSE project. A viable technical and procedural solution was designed and tested in a field demonstration, where 53 people were engaged to provide 137 observations in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, using environmental sensors connected to a smartphone. The results have been analyzed and discussed in terms of the product’s attractiveness for engaging citizens in the evaluation of acoustic comfort in urban places, the accuracy of the noise levels measured by the acoustic app service integrated into the smartphone, and its ability to obtain simultaneous acoustic and perception data. The results presented in this article are considered a step forward in the research into developing solutions for assessing acoustic comfort. Limitations of the proposed solution are discussed, as are suggestions for further research.

When soundscape meets architecture

Abstract: Abstract The harmonization of noise indicators, noise mapping, and action plans delivers basic administrative information not only for noise abatement in highly noisepolluted areas, but also for comparisons across built environments regionally and internationally. However, such activities do not provide any tools or essential knowledge for the more demanding tasks required in designing and planning sustainable built environments that are supportive to wellbeing and health. Without knowing the determining factors behind dose-response curves [1, 2], the decision process for developing action plans is unnecessarily restricted. Optional courses of action for handling a noise problem cannot be sufficiently considered without understanding the full context—physical, cultural, emotional— of noise’s effect on people. Therefore, an approach for considering these many angles must involve diverse fields of practice and interdisciplinary approaches. One such methodology is the multidimensional Soundscape Approach, which emphasizes how the acoustic environment is perceived, experienced, and/or understood by a person or people in context. Relying on principles of the Soundscape Approach, two urban green spaces will be examined regarding noise abatement strategies in relation to visitors’ experiential expectations. It will be shown how and why soundscape is an invaluable tool in detecting and analyzing needs for an adequate acoustic environment, accounting for people’s concerns and integrating their local expertise to guide the process of planning, designing and maintaining sites.

Acoustic, Visual and Spatial Indicators for the Description of the Soundscape of Waterfront Areas with and without Road Traffic Flow

Abstract: High flows of road traffic noise in urban agglomerations can negatively affect the livability of squares and parks located at the neighborhood, district and city levels, therefore pushing anyone who wants to enjoy calmer, quieter areas to move to non-urban parks. Due to the distances between these areas, it is not possible to go as regularly as would be necessary to satisfy any needs. Even if cities are densely populated, the presence of a sea or riverfront offers the possibility of large restorative places, or at least with potential features for being the natural core of an urban nucleus after a renewal intervention. This study evaluates the soundscape of the Naples waterfront, presenting an overview of the most significant visual, acoustic and spatial factors related to the pedestrian areas, as well as areas open to road traffic and others where the road traffic is limited. The factors were chosen with feature selection methods and artificial neural networks. The results show how certain factors, such as the perimeter between the water and promenade, the visibility of the sea or the density of green areas, can affect the perception of the soundscape quality in the areas with road traffic. In the pedestrian areas, acoustic factors, such as loudness or the A-weighted sound level exceeded for 10% of the measurement duration (LA10), influence the perceived quality of the soundscape.

Composing with Schizo-narratives and Sonic Chorographies:The Territory of Disembodied Voices and the Perception ofAcousmatic Identities

Abstract: This PhD focusses on the body of work that has emerged from the author’s compositional practice between 2008 and 2015. It tackles a range of issues including (dark) tourism, identity and remembrance, and the tensions between history, narrative and myth; from folklore practices to postwar Eastern Europe and the Holocaust. Three extended projects using field recordings and interviews as their primary source material are examined: a soundscape study of Padstow, a composition dealing with the soundscapes of historically-charged places, and an ongoing project that further explores issues of memory, narrative, and myth-making. Through a detailed contextual investigation of these sound-works, the text endeavours to provide a dialogue between the phonographies of the sites and voices featured in the compositions and the social, historical, political and economic forces that have contributed to the making (and metamorphosis) of these places and communities. The author develops a number of notions including the construction of schizo-narratives: an editing technique where fragments of interviews are reorganised to create unexpected and non-linear narratives, and sonic chorographies: the use of field recordings to represent not only the fragmentary delineations of a soundscape but also to operate a re-scaling of the elements depicted to highlight crucial aspects of the socio-political fabric of a specific place. These elements lead to an investigation of the territory of disembodied voices – the phenomenological mechanisms of interaction between disembodied voices and the sonic environment – as well as a reflection on the perception of acousmatic identities. From the multitude of conflicting histories that underpin the origins and beliefs associated with the Mayday festival to the problematic site transformations that have occurred in Krakow and Auschwitz as a result of the Holocaust tourist trade; from the dislocated narratives of ‘twin language’ to the imagined myths of the lost Jewish community of thirteenth century Hereford, this PhD endeavours to show how disembodied voices and soundscapes might be creatively and conceptually explored through plurality and contradiction, as a territory where no element is fixed, where no narrative is crystallised, where identities are in constant motion, where meaning is always transient.

Becoming Sonic: Ambient Poetics and the Ecology of Listening in Four Militant Sound Investigations

Abstract: This dissertation Becoming Sonic: Ambient Poetics and the Ecology of the Ear in Four Militant Sound Investigations offers a critical and historical analysis of acoustic ecology and soundscape recording —the sounds, noises, and silences that make up our ambient sonic environment and are found and recorded “in the field” by artists to create recordings and performances are then experienced by listeners. Field recording captures the diverse and often unwanted or inconsequential sounds of a space, which can then be used to bring attention to the often unheard and unconscious processes that stratify space. By stratification I am referring to the processes of urban planning, architecture, business, policies, and governance that shape and grid the environment. Analyzing four case studies by the sound collective Ultra-Red, sound activist Christopher DeLaurenti, and field recording artist Chris Watson, that explore the soundscapes of housing redevelopment, using a food bank, public sex in parks, and the slow violence of ecological devastation, this dissertation builds on and analyzes the sonic environmental and spatial implications of ecology by both critiquing acoustic ecology and employing it as a concept to explore the political, aesthetic, and epistemological consequences of soundscape recording. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine what sound indicates through cultural practice and how it can be used and deployed to create different understandings of the places we live and act. This research articulates a poetics of listening to space that constructs worlds and questions how the environment can be used for aesthetic purposes, how the sounds of the city and ‘nature’ influence artists, how artists practice and experience sound by listening, and what kind of knowledges these aesthetic practices produce. In order to accomplish this, it relies on critical approaches to ecology, space and urbanism (Gilles Deleuze and Fèlix Guattari, David Harvey, Nigel Thrift, and Edward Soja); ecologies of sound and listening (Steve Goodman, Murray Schafer, Susan Bickford, Frances Dyson); and affective politics (Brian Massumi, Erin Manning).