Is the park as attractive acoustically as it is visually?
Key Takeaways:
Soundscapes, Urban Environments, and Interplay between Sound and Visual Aesthetic
I conducted the project in an urban park, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sai YingPun. It is my favorite park, and I go there daily because of the captivating view.
Initially, I wanted to present a beautiful piece of my daily park routine to show its true beauty. However, as I carefully monitored the sound through the headphones, I noticed some sounds that I had not paid attention to carefully before, and I started to ponder if this park was as attractive acoustically as it was visually. Moreover, what is the most dominant sound?
Sound Walk and Sound Map
My first step was walking on the memorial lawn in the center of the park, and I captured sounds like kids playing and footsteps on grass. By walking around the outside of the circle and capturing children paddling/biking, broom wiping and people running. Birds chirping on the trees/ground, and airplanes flying over the sky were also caught. After that, I walked along the promenade and captured the sound of waves, boats, and even puppies’ footsteps. Sound from the basketball court is also prominent. Lastly, there is Connaught Road traffic right next to the park.
The park is right to the street and has a highway above, creating lots of noise pollution. Cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles, such as ambulance buses, are often parks’ most dominant and pervasive noise sources.
Commercial air traffic is also a significant component. Planes fly over the park frequently, and this aircraft behavior produces less desirable conditions on the ground. During my sound walk, planes have at least flown over my head over 5 times. The frequent passing of commercial boats contributes to the noise as well.
Sometimes, kids also make noises.
There are many cheering natural sounds at the same time like birds chirping, leaves rustling, and the ocean waves; all give me a calm and relaxing feeling.
After completing the sound walk and creating the sound map, I recognized the significance of sound and its relationship to the environment.
In urban parks, the sound walk path affects the soundscape assessment. For example, According to the Peak-End Rule by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Barbara Fredrickson, which is a psychological heuristic that suggests people judge experiences primarily based on two factors: the most intense point (the “peak”) and the final moments (the “end”) of the experience, rather than the overall duration. People also compare the sound loudness contrast path (noise-quiet/quiet-noise) with the sound source contrast path. Creating memorable peaks and ensuring a cheerful ending is beneficial to improve overall satisfaction (De Jong et al., 2022).
Another study that focuses on urban park soundscapes investigates residents’ preferences for various sound sources. It combines soundscape measurements with semantic differential methods to analyze how different demographic groups perceive sounds in an urban park in Shanghai. The research finds that residents have distinct preferences based on their characteristics, such as age and background. It highlights that human and artificial sounds can be perceived as noisy, while natural sounds are generally favored. The study suggests that enhancing natural sound elements while managing noise from human activities can improve the overall soundscape quality in urban parks (Gong et al., 2022).
Research suggests that when a park is visually attractive, it should have aesthetic elements such as greenery, water features, and well-designed landscapes that help distract from or buffer the impact of unpleasant sounds, making visitors feel more relaxed and engaged. (Ulrich, 1983). Aesthetic quality in parks has been linked to psychological benefits, including reduced stress and increased relaxation. These benefits can buffer the negative impacts of noise pollution.
References
De Jong, K., van der Linden, T., & Wouters, J. (2022). Soundwalk path affecting soundscape assessment in urban parks. *Frontiers in Psychology, 13,* 1096952. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1096952
Gong, Y., Cui, C., Cai, M., Dong, Z., Zhao, Z., & Wang, A. (2022). Residents’ preferences to multiple sound sources in urban park: Integrating soundscape measurements and semantic differences. *Forests, 13*(11), 1754. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13111754
Hartig, T., & Korpela, K. (1990). Assessing the restorative components of environments.
*Journal of Environmental Psychology, 10*(3), 277-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272- 4944(05)80184-7
Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). *The experience of nature: A psychological perspective*. Cambridge University Press.
Ulrich, R. S. (1983). Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. *In I. Altman &
J. F. Wohlwill (Eds.), Behavior and the natural environment* (pp. 85-125). Springer.