Quiet Areas and the Need for Quietness in Amsterdam

Abstract

This paper describes the Quiet Places Project in Amsterdam. The purpose of the study was to find out: (1) which public quiet places there are according to Amsterdam residents; (2) what characterizes a quiet place; (3) to what extent do residents want peace and quiet; (4) how do residents realize these needs. The factors determining the need for quietness are presented in a model showing the influence of demographic and socio-economic issues, health status, sensitiveness to noise, daily activities and the noisiness in and around home. Most important of these factors is sensitivity to noise. Elderly and less healthy people are more often sensitive to noise. People who are annoyed by sound from traffic, airplanes and the like show a higher need for quietness. People with a lively household or neighbourhood report lower needs for quietness. Visiting a quiet place and going outside to walk or bike can have a compensating effect on the need for quietness. This suggests that creating quiet places and enhancing possibilities for quiet recreation in urban environments can have a positive effect on the quality of life in the city. Objective noise levels at the quiet places were taken from environmental noise maps. This shows that there may be a preference for low transportation noise levels, but levels up to 60 dB Lday are acceptable. Apparently this depends on a relative quietness or on non-acoustic characteristics of an area: the presence of vegetation and other pleasant stimuli.

Ten questions on the soundscapes of the built environment

“…Different features of the immediate physical environment play together: e.g., access to green space in the immediate vicinity of dwellings moderates the effect of the availability of a quiet side of the dwelling and annoyance. Also, a need for quiet space in the wider area is felt more by people who live under noisy conditions (e.g., high traffic noise equivalent levels) and by people who are noise sensitive (Booi & van den Berg, 2012). We still need to advance our understanding of the process by which these different mechanisms may operate.…”

Characterizing urban areas with good sound quality: Development of a research protocol

“…A cluster of questions dealing with acoustically pleasant places in the neighborhood, in terms of availability and use, respondents' perceptions, and the perceived sound quality of these places was developed and will be included. [2,29] The findings of the review imply that, in addition to yearly equivalent sound levels (L den ), also other acoustic indicators should be generated, in order to explore the acoustic quality of several scale levels (home situation, street, or neighborhood) within the participants' direct living environment. In TASTE, yearly equivalent sound levels (L den ) produced by road-and rail traffic will be generated by means of the STAndard Model Instrumentation for Noise Assessments (STAMINA).…”

On the Relationship between Traffic Noise Resistance and Urban Morphology in Low-Density Residential Areas

“…However, in urbanised areas, studies show that noise is one of the most frequently mentioned stressors of what people likeand dislikeintheir neighbourhood and community [4]; noise intrudes on av ariety of human activities [1]. The preservation and protection of 'quiet areas' have been emphasised in assessments and managements of environmental noise by the Directive 2002/49 of the European Parliament (END) [ 5], and the significance of quietness and quiet areas continues to attract much attention [6]. Among various urban noise sources, traffic noise is one "cacophony" of urban sound [7] that attracts considerable notice.…”