Soundscape descriptors and a conceptual framework for developing predictive soundscape models

By Francesco Aletta, Jian Kang, Östen Axelsson. 2016

475 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Soundscape exists through human perception of the acoustic environment. This paper investigates how soundscape currently is assessed and measured. It reviews and analyzes the main soundscape descriptors in the soundscape literature, and provides a conceptual framework for developing predictive models in soundscape studies. A predictive soundscape model provides a means of predicting the value of a soundscape descriptor, and the blueprint for how to design soundscape. It is the key for implementing the soundscape approach in urban planning and design. The challenge is to select the appropriate soundscape descriptor and to identify its predictors. The majority of available soundscape descriptors are converging towards a 2-dimensional soundscape model of perceived affective quality (e.g., Pleasantness–Eventfulness, or Calmness–Vibrancy). A third potential dimension is the appropriateness of a soundscape to a place. This dimensions provides complementary information beyond the perceived affective quality. However, it depends largely on context, and because a soundscape may be appropriate to a place although it is poor, this descriptor must probably not be used on its own. With regards to predictors, or soundscape indicators, perceived properties of the acoustic environment (e.g., perceived sound sources) are winning over established acoustic and psychoacoustic metrics. To move this area forward it is necessary that the international soundscape community comes together and agrees on relevant soundscape descriptors. This includes to agree on numerical scales and assessment procedures, as well as to standardize them.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Speech and Hearing

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/d14f386dbf9f8fc25777b31123d5295dde993305

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In Cognitive Neuroscience

In Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

In Speech and Hearing

Citations in the corpus

Effect of soundscape dimensions on acoustic comfort in urban open public spaces (2018, background): “[39] suggested that two major dimensions which are pleasantness and calmness affect soundscape, and a third potential dimension is the appropriateness of a soundscape to a place.”
Soundscape assessment of a monumental place : a methodology based on the perception of dominant sounds (2018, background): “The reported soundscape quality strongly correlates with the attribute "pleasant" (Table 5), perhaps because this adjective refers to an emotion or feeling by which individuals assess the environmental sounds in terms of pleasure (Aletta, Kang, & Axelsson, 2016; Axelsson et al., 2010).”
An Experimental Study on the Influence of Soundscapes on People’s Behaviour in an Open Public Space (2016, background): “[16], this raises a question about whether being “aware” of taking part in a soundscape study might actually affect the responses people give.”