Towards better visualizations of urban sound environments: insights from interviews (2407.16889v1)

Abstract: Urban noise maps and noise visualizations traditionally provide macroscopic representations of noise levels across cities. However, those representations fail at accurately gauging the sound perception associated with these sound environments, as perception highly depends on the sound sources involved. This paper aims at analyzing the need for the representations of sound sources, by identifying the urban stakeholders for whom such representations are assumed to be of importance. Through spoken interviews with various urban stakeholders, we have gained insight into current practices, the strengths and weaknesses of existing tools and the relevance of incorporating sound sources into existing urban sound environment representations. Three distinct use of sound source representations emerged in this study: 1) noise-related complaints for industrials and specialized citizens, 2) soundscape quality assessment for citizens, and 3) guidance for urban planners. Findings also reveal diverse perspectives for the use of visualizations, which should use indicators adapted to the target audience, and enable data accessibility.

• The paper shows that traditional noise maps overlook subjective sound perceptions, reducing their practical effectiveness.
• It employs qualitative interviews with diverse stakeholders to assess the impact of source-specific data on noise visualization.
• Key findings indicate that precise sound source representations can boost complaint resolution, urban planning, and public awareness.

Analyzing the Representation of Sound Sources in Urban Noise Visualizations

The paper explores the intricacies of urban noise representations, emphasizing their traditional role in city environments and shortcomings in reflecting sound perception. It proposes a comprehensive paper on identifying urban stakeholders who can benefit from such enhanced representations, through qualitative methodologies.

Overview

Traditional urban noise maps offer a broad view of noise levels but neglect the subjective perception of sounds, varying widely with different sources. The work highlights that simply displaying noise levels fails to address the nuances of perception which changes based on whether the noise stems from traffic, industrial activities, or social interactions. Interviews were conducted with diverse stakeholders, such as city officials, technical services, urban planners, and citizens, to capture their views on current noise visualization practices.

Key Findings

The research identifies three distinct applications where sound source information could significantly enhance current noise visualization practices:

1. Noise-Related Complaints: Industrial stakeholders and informed citizens benefit from precise, source-specific noise data, aiding in resolving complaints effectively. For this use, representations that isolate specific sources are more actionable.
2. Soundscape Quality Assessment: General citizens considering new residential locations or curious about their neighborhood's soundscape gain from broader urban noise depictions. Here, interpolated maps depicting broad sound patterns are favored, though accuracy concerns with interpolation highlight a need for careful handling.
3. Guidance for Urban Planners: Urban planners require highly localized and precise data, integrating noise with other environmental factors for planning purposes. They prefer raw data access to create customized, project-specific representations.

Methodological Insights

The paper describes robust methodological approaches employed through qualitative interviews. Participants spanned diverse roles from acosuticians and environmental organizations to non-specialist citizens, ensuring a wide spectrum of perspectives. The researchers employed demonstrations of existing platforms like Bruitparif and Rumeur, as well as novel visualization methods via platforms like Lasso, fostering discussion on preferences and practicalities of sound source visualizations.

Practical and Theoretical Implications

The incorporation of sound source information into noise visualizations addresses a crucial gap in urban planning and public engagement with environmental noise data. Practically, the improved representations can assist stakeholders in making informed decisions, whether resolving complaints or deciding on urban developments. Theoretically, the research opens pathways to refine noise representation methodologies further, integrating them with broader urban environmental data.

Speculation on Future Developments

Looking forward, the development and standardization of noise indices tailored for non-specialist audiences could significantly enhance public engagement with noise data. Improved indices could close the perceived gap between technical noise measurements and public perception. Additionally, advancements in sound classification algorithms will likely play a crucial role in enriching urban noise visualizations with multi-source analysis.

In conclusion, this paper contributes a nuanced understanding of urban noise visualization's limitations and the potential for enriched representations through sound source identification. The insights offered could guide both immediate practical enhancements and future theoretical advances in urban soundscape analysis.