Developing a taxonomy of soundscape interventions from a catalogue of real-world examples

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in urban soundscapes and a shift towards a user-focused approach in urban sound environments. Despite this interest, there is no comprehensive taxonomy for soundscape design available. The Catalogue of Soundscape Interventions (CSI) project aims to fill this gap by creating a tool to collect and share data on real soundscape practices, with the goal of developing a design toolkit and brief to facilitate communication between local authorities, consultants, and researchers. An online platform has been launched to gather instances of soundscape interventions. This paper proposes eight dimensions of soundscape interventions and presents a taxonomy that categorizes these interventions based on recurring strategies and goals observed in 43 practice cases collected. These dimensions include stages, contributors, scale, period of time, intervention types, public involvement, aims and purposes, and approaches. As soundscape practices increase in complexity and variety, the taxonomy can be revised and expanded. Nevertheless, the provided taxonomy serves as an orientation aid for understanding, analyzing, and designing soundscapes, leading to the development of more harmonious and contextually appropriate acoustic environments.