Enhancement of soundscapes using natural sounds in urban spaces

Abstract

Design elements of urban soundscape were investigated through individual soundwalk and laboratory experiments. Soundwalking was performed in Seoul; thirty subjects selected evaluation sites when they perceived positive and negative soundscape elements in the soundscape route. It was found that soundscape elements are closely related to visual elements. In order to investigate the effects of the design elements on soundscape perception, laboratory experiments were designed: birds’ singing and water sounds were selected as acoustic stimuli enhancing the urban soundscapes. Trees and water features were also added as visual stimuli which were connected to the acoustic elements. The experiments consisted of three parts; 1) audio-only condition, 2) visual-only condition, and 3) audio-visual condition. As a result, the contributions of soundscape elements to urban soundscape perception were derived.