A perceptual sound space for auditory displays based on sung-vowel synthesis

When designing displays for the human senses, perceptual spaces are of great importance to give intuitive access to physical attributes. Similar to how perceptual spaces based on hue, saturation, and lightness were constructed for visual color, research has explored perceptual spaces for sounds of a given timbral family based on timbre, brightness, and pitch. To promote an embodied approach to the design of auditory displays, we introduce the Vowel-Type-Pitch (VTP) space, a cylindrical sound space based on human sung vowels, whose timbres can be synthesized by the composition of acoustic formants and can be categorically labeled. Vowels are arranged along the circular dimension, while voice type and pitch of the vowel correspond to the remaining two axes of the cylindrical VTP space. The decoupling and perceptual effectiveness of the three dimensions of the VTP space are tested through a vowel labeling experiment, whose results are visualized as maps on circular slices of the VTP cylinder. We discuss implications for the design of auditory and multi-sensory displays that account for human perceptual capabilities

Mitigation and adaptation strategies to offset the impacts of climate change on urban health: A European perspective

Climate change threatens urban health, whether that refers to the human or environmental aspects of urban life. At the same time, initiatives of city regeneration envision alternative forms of the urban environment, where derelict spaces have the potential to be brought back to life in ways that would not compromise urban health. Regeneration processes should utilise mitigation and adaptation strategies that consider the future needs and anticipated role of cities within the context of the discourse about climate change, accounting for expected and unforeseen impacts and regarding the city as an agent of action rather than a static territory, too complex to change. Nevertheless, literature implicating these three parameters synchronously, namely, climate change, cities, and health, has been scarce. This study aims to fill this gap through a systematic literature review, exploring climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that can be employed in urban regeneration efforts seeking to mitigate climate-exacerbated phenomena and their impacts on urban health as well as identifying the main trends and opportunities overlooked. Findings show that even though the emphasis is given to the physical actions and impacts of climate change and urban health, an emerging theme is a need to engage civic society in co-designing urban spaces. Synergistic relationships, collaborations and avoidance of lock-in situations appear to be the most significant subtopics emerging from this literature review. One main recommendation is the promotion of a community-driven, inclusive, participatory approach in regeneration projects. That will ensure that different vulnerabilities can be adequately addressed and that diverse population groups will have equitable health benefits