An activity-centric conceptual framework for assessing and creating positive urban soundscapes

Cain, R; Jennings, P; Adams, M; Bruce, N; Davies, WJ; Carlyle, A; Cusack, P; Hume, K; Plack, C

Abstract

The Positive Soundscapes Project is an interdisciplinary investigation of soundscape perception [1].
The project seeks to develop a rounded view of human perception of soundscapes by drawing
together methods from the disciplines of engineering sound quality [2], acoustics, psychoacoustics,
physiology [3], as well as sound art, acoustic ecology and social science [4]. In the acoustics
community, sound in the environment, especially that made by other people has overwhelmingly
been considered in negative terms as both intrusive and undesirable. The strong focus of
traditional engineering acoustics on reducing noise levels ignores the many possibilities for
characterizing positive aspects of the soundscape, whereas art and social science disciplines
interpret soundscape perception as a multimodal and multi-dimensional concept. The project team
come from a wide range of disciplines and are applying their experiences to investigate
soundscapes from different aspects to produce a more nuanced and complete picture of listener
response than has so far been achieved.

In order for the team behind the project to achieve this, an underpinning framework is required, by
which to approach and move the project forward, while aligning thinking from the different
disciplines. This paper describes a high-level first iteration of the conceptual framework, which is
structured in three parts. The use and potential application of the framework within the Positive
Soundscapes Project is then discussed.

Citation

Cain, R., Jennings, P., Adams, M., Bruce, N., Davies, W., Carlyle, A., …Plack, C. An activity-centric conceptual framework for assessing and creating positive urban soundscapes. Presented at Spring Conference of the Institute of Acoustics 2008 : Widening Horizons in Acoustics, Reading, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: Spring Conference of the Institute of Acoustics 2008 : Widening Horizons in Acoustics
• Conference Location: Reading, UK
• End Date: Apr 11, 2008
• Publication Date: Apr 11, 2008
• Deposit Date: Nov 19, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 21, 2020
• Publisher: Institute of Acoustics
• Series Title: Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics
• Series Number: 2
• Book Title: Spring Conference of the Institute of Acoustics 2008: Widening Horizons in Acoustics
• ISBN: 9781605601427
• Publisher URL: https://www.ioa.org.uk/
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference; Funders : Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)