Exploring the impact of environmental factors on soundscape perception for sustainable and resilient urban environments

Abstract

The impacts of global climate change are becoming increasingly alarming, highlighting the need for sustainable urbanism practices. The soundscape has been identified as crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. Using an ergo-aesthetic framework, this research aims to investigate the impact of weather conditions and sound levels on soundscape perception in urban shopping streets. Data was collected through a soundscape survey (n = 411) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, based on the ISO12913-2 technical specification standards. The result from multivariate analysis of variance revealed that weather and sound level significantly influenced soundscape perception. Based on analysis of variance, a significant difference in perception was found between low and high levels of loudness, with high levels of loudness having a significantly higher perception. It is observed that users tend to have a stronger preference for an "appropriateness" soundscape in urban shopping streets during cloudy weather conditions based on multiple comparison analysis. The participants generally reported feeling acoustically comfortable with lower temperatures in cloudy weather, possibly due to the increased cloud coverage acting as a form of background noise absorber, thereby enhancing the perceived appropriateness of the soundscape. These findings contribute to understanding soundscapes in creating sustainable and resilient urban environments.