Urban sound planning in Brighton and Hove

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Using body language indicators for assessing the effects of soundscape quality on individuals

“Sounding Brighton” is a collaborative project exploring practical approaches towards better soundscapes focusing on soundscape issues related to health, quality of life and restorative functions of the environment. The project is part of a citywide engagement process working to provide opportunities to demonstrate how an applied soundscape approach might: tackle conventional noise problems, contribute to local planning and improve the environment in areas including urban green spaces, the built environment and traffic noise. So far, a soundscape map of the city has been developed, and a public outreach exhibition and conferences have taken place. One preliminary, experimental soundscape intervention in night noise has been analysed. This paper reports on further work to develop a better understanding of the effects of soundscapes on individual and community responses to soundscape through the use of body language indicators. Two-minute excerpts of aversive and preferred music were presented to 11 healthy volunteers in a motion-capture laboratory setting. Their responses were quantified computationally using motion-capture-derived parameters for position, absolute movement speed, and stillness. The prevalence of stillness of the head height (based on a 2 cm cut-off during 2-second sectors) was significantly lower when volunteers were exposed to unpleasant music compared to preferred music. This experiment provides proof in principle that changes in soundscape can be associated with subsequent, objective and statistically significant changes in body language that can be detected computationally

Towards an agile participatory urban soundscape planning framework

This paper presents an agile participatory urban soundscape planning process model, which is proposed as a prerequisite on which to build and reference the efficacy of urban soundscape planning. The model was developed through data synthesis and analysis and mapping engagement with diverse stakeholders across four applied soundscape projects in Brighton and Hove, UK. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the model is the first of its kind in applied soundscape practice. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and document analysis of published resources. The framework used for the analysis of the findings comprised four core urban planning stages: goals and objectives, engagement (e.g. prediction/modelling/design/planning), implications, evaluation. The study found that when integrating soundscape planning with core urban planning stages it was necessary to first identify the appropriate stakeholders in relation to the project context. It was found that these stakeholders could be wide-ranging and unexpected, thereby reinforcing the appropriateness of incorporating an agile approach in the resulting model. The study also found that users’ perceptions are central to soundscape practice and need to be considered at each stage of a planning process to produce an effective and sustainable outcome. A variety of specific events, appropriate to the requirements of the stakeholders, are important for engaging planning authorities, users and other stakeholders at different stages. This study also demonstrated that an evidence-based evaluation method is recommended in an agile participatory urban soundscape planning process to assess stakeholders’ engagement at each stage and to inform and guide subsequent steps in the planning process relevant to the local context(s)

Using a soundscape approach to develop an acoustic ecology plan for a city

Sounding Brighton is a collaborative project exploring practical approaches toward better soundscapes focusing on soundscape issues related to health, quality of life, and restorative functions of the environment. The project provides the opportunity to raise awareness and promote communication on soundscapes among the general public, stakeholders and those involved in policy, including encouraging exploration of new ways of listening in local soundscapes, and new ways of tackling noise and improving local soundscape quality. The project is working to provide opportunities to discuss how soundscape concepts might, alongside tackling conventional noise problems, contribute to local planning and environmental improvement as part of a city wide engagement process in the city of Brighton and Hove in England in the United Kingdom. A range of environments, e.g., seafront, foreshore, historic terraces, squares, lanes, parks, and gardens, are being considered. A soundmap of the city is being developed utilizing the Swedish Soundscape-Quality Protocol (developed by Osten Axelsson, Mats E Nilsson and Birgitta Berglund); a public outreach exhibition is being developed; and a night noise intervention study is planned to explore the relationship between soundscapes and the brain, community well being, social cohesion, and the physical and mental health of individuals

Sounding Brighton: practical approaches towards better soundscapes

“Sounding Brighton” is a collaborative project exploring practical approaches towards better soundscapes focusing on soundscape issues related to health, quality of life and restorative functions of the environment. The project provides the opportunity to raise awareness and promote communication on soundscapes among the general public, stakeholders and those involved in policy, including encouraging exploration of new ways of listening in local soundscapes, and new ways of tackling noise and improving local soundscape quality. The project is working to provide opportunities to discuss how soundscape concepts might, alongside tackling conventional noise problems, contribute to local planning and environmental improvement as part of a citywide engagement process in the city of Brighton & Hove in England in the United Kingdom. A range of environments: e.g. city centre, entertainment venues, seafront, foreshore, historic terraces, squares, lanes, parks and gardens are being considered. A soundmap of the city is being developed; a public outreach exhibition has taken place; and a night noise intervention pilot study has been trialed to explore the relationship between soundscapes and the brain and their effects on human behavior. The work is being further developed to better understand the effect of soundscapes on community well being, social cohesion and the physical and mental health of individuals

Acoustics for supportive and healthy buildings:Emerging themes on indoor soundscape research

The focus of the building industry and research is shifting from delivering satisfactory spaces to going beyond what is merely acceptable with a wave of new research and practice dedicated to exploring how the built environment can support task performance and enhance people’s health and well-being. The present study addresses the role of acoustics in this paradigm shift. Indoor soundscape research has recently emerged as an approach that brings a perceptual perspective on building and room acoustics in order to shape built environments that “sound good” according to building occupants’ preference and needs. This paper establishes an initial discussion over some of the open questions in this field of research that is still in an embryonic stage. A thematic analysis of structured interviews with a panel of experts offered a range of perspectives on the characterization, management, and design of indoor soundscapes and health-related outcomes. The discussion pointed out the importance of both perceptual and multisensory research and integrated participatory design practices to enable a holistic view regarding the complex building–user interrelations and the design of just cities. Soundscape methodologies tailored to the peculiarities of indoor soundscapes can help to measure and predict the human perceptual response to the acoustic stimuli in context, thus reducing the risk of mismatches between expected and real building experiences. This perceptual perspective is expected to widen the scientific evidence for the negative and positive impacts of the acoustic environment on human health, well-being, and quality of life. This will support prioritizing the role of acoustics in building design and challenge many current design practices that are based on a noise control approach

Five questions on the indoor soundscape approach for regenerative buildings

Regenerative building design represents a paradigm shift from current sustainability practices towards a new design approach, as it focuses not only on limiting negative impacts but also on promoting a positive contribution to social and ecological systems. Regenerative design and indoor soundscape research share a multidisciplinary approach and the common aim of improving people´s health and well-being. Indeed, soundscape science, originally developed in the context of urban planning, has been recently applied to the indoor built environment as a research framework that integrates noise control engineering methods with physical, social, and psychological approaches in order to foster the design of indoor spaces positively perceived by building users. The five questions presented in this paper investigate several aspects related to this emerging field of research: 1) the contribution of acoustic design to regenerative buildings; 2) differences and similarities between indoor and outdoor soundscape approaches; 3) methodologies for “measuring” indoor soundscapes; 4) the potential of sound management for biophilic design, and 5) the relationship between “wanted” sounds and health outcomes. This study relied on structured interviews with a panel of experts conducted as part of the COST Action RESTORE. Together with interviewees, an agenda for future advances in indoor soundscaping is proposed