A Quantification Analysis on Acoustic Landscapes of Waterfront Scenic Areas: A Case Study of Hangzhou City, China

Abstract

Open spaces are important for improvement of the quality of urban living. Traditional research on open spaces mainly focuses on spatial forms and visual esthetics to analyze environmental quality, but lacks adequate consideration regarding acoustic elements. In the field of acoustic environment, people pay much attention to interior sound quality design and noise pollution. In order to provide a new viewpoint for urban design and to reinforce design methods, herein, the concept of soundscape was introduced. In this survey, the types and the features of waterfront soundscapes, as well as the spatial distribution of visitors were observed. Thirteen pairs of sound and image scenarios were presented to 112 subjects at the tourism city, Hangzhou, China. The sounds and images used were of real settings in waterfront scenic areas. The affective response was measured in terms of pleasure. The evaluation results showed the influence of the interaction between visual and acoustic stimuli on perception of the environment. It has been proven that there is a need to identify places where conservation of the sound environment is essential, due to the drastic impact of the loss of sound quality or its salient informational content on human appreciation, especially in theme spaces and folk-custom landscapes. Moreover, the coherence between sound and image influences human preferences, since coherent combinations are rated higher than the mean of the component stimuli. Therefore, the spatial partition of soundscape is also necessary with the movement of visual images.