A framework to characterize and classify soundscape design practices based on grounded theory
Moshona Cleopatra Christina,
Fiebig André,
Aletta Francesco,
Chen Xiaochao,
Kang Jian,
Mitchell Andrew,
Oberman Tin,
Schulte-Fortkamp Brigitte
Affiliations
Moshona Cleopatra Christina
Engineering Acoustics, Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Technical Acoustics, Technische Universität Berlin, Einsteinufer 25, 10587, Berlin, Germany
Fiebig André
Engineering Acoustics, Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Technical Acoustics, Technische Universität Berlin, Einsteinufer 25, 10587, Berlin, Germany
Aletta Francesco
UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom
Chen Xiaochao
UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom
Kang Jian
UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom
Mitchell Andrew
UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom
Oberman Tin
UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom
In recent years, various stakeholders and political decision-makers have recognized the significance of high-quality urban sound environments, stressing the need for user-centered trajectories. Despite the rising interest in this field, the soundscape approach has not yet fully permeated urban planning and design, possibly due to a lack of comprehensible guidelines on how to implement and curate successful soundscape designs, attributed to on-going developments on this subject. In the course of the Catalogue of Soundscape Interventions (CSI) Project, a taxonomy of eight dimensions was developed to serve as an orientation aid for practitioners, describing important aspects of soundscape-related measures that can be used as a brief to facilitate communication between authorities, consultants, and researchers. This study describes the theoretical framework and, in particular, the sequential coding process involved in deriving these dimensions, which is based on grounded theory. It lists observations and limitations of the resulting taxonomy and builds upon these findings to critically review and revisit existing nomenclature and concepts. Finally, a qualitative distinction in the form of a design pyramid according to ascending levels of epistemic rigor is proposed, to differentiate between documented practices, which may serve as a reference point for future harmonization and standardization.
