Comparative evaluation of soundscapes in human activities spatial contexts of pedestrian spaces adjacent to arterial roads.

Pedestrian spaces adjacent to arterial roads are characterized by the dominance of traffic noise alongside various human activities. Research on the impact of traffic noise on the soundscape evaluation of pedestrian spaces has not considered human activities spatial contexts. To address this research gap, the present study constructed auditory environments for pedestrian spaces in the contexts of commuting, residential, and commercial activities. A total of seven auditory environments were subjected to laboratory auditory evaluations, including perceived dominance of sound source, acoustic comfort, and perceived affective quality of the soundscape. The results indicated that in pedestrian spaces with constant traffic noise, the presence of significant human activity sounds led to a decreased perceived dominance of traffic noise and an increased acoustic comfort, despite the higher acoustic energy. Thus, pedestrian spaces with a variety of human activity received better soundscape evaluations. The elements that reflected the human activities spatial contexts, including the types and intensity of human activities, played a crucial role in soundscape evaluations. Better acoustic comfort was reported in pedestrian spaces characterized by low-intensity residential activities and high-intensity commercial activities. Additionally, pedestrian spaces with more intense activities offered an actively engaging soundscape. The findings can provide reference for a more accurate evaluation of the soundscape in pedestrian spaces and guide the soundscape design of pedestrian environments.

Spatial differences in thermal comfort in summer in coastal areas: A study on Dalian, China.

Thermal comfort is an important indicator for evaluating the environment of urban public space, and appropriate thermal comfort can effectively prolong the duration of outdoor activities. In the existing studies, there is a lack of thermal comfort comparison between hot spots and cold spots. In this study, we selected the coastal city of Dalian in China as our study area and conducted field investigations on the thermal comfort of two landmark resorts, namely, a downtown commercial street and coastal leisure park. The study was conducted on typical summer days and consisted of interviewing several residents to understand their thermal comfort requirements. We investigated the thermal expectations of the interviewees through meteorological measurements and questionnaires. The universal thermal climate index (UTCI) was used to determine the thermal benchmarks of the on-site subjects. The results indicated that (1) globe temperature and air temperature were the most important factors that affected thermal comfort, followed by relative humidity and wind speed in summer daytime. (2) Shaded spaces are more comfortable than open spaces, and tree shade is preferred over artificial shade in coastal park. (3) The neutral UTCI (NUTCI) of the respondents were 24.1°C (coastal park) and 26.0°C (commercial street); the neutral UTCI ranges (NUTCIR) were 20.8-27.4°C (coastal park) and 23.3-28.7°C (commercial street). (4) The upper thermal acceptable range limits of the coastal park and commercial street were 30.2 and 32.1°C, respectively, which were substantially higher than the upper NUTCIR limit, indicating that the residents in Dalian were well-adapted to hot weather. The results can provide a good reference for determining ideal design strategies to optimize the thermal environment of urban outdoor recreation spaces in summers and improve the quality of life in coastal cities.

Optimization of green infrastructure networks based on potential green roof integration in a high-density urban area-A case study of Beijing, China.

Green infrastructure network (GIN) optimization is an effective measure to reduce the landscape fragmentation caused by rapid urbanization. However, there are few targeted and practical studies of GINs in high-density urban areas with a prominent contradiction between ecological construction and land scarcity, leading to insufficient feasibility of most optimization paths as they avoid practical contradictions (scarcity of land, high cost, etc.). As an effective way to economically increase green infrastructure, green roofs have been demonstrated to provide habitats and stepping stones to increase landscape connectivity for high-mobility organisms. However, few studies have applied green roofs to GIN optimization. To address this question, a new approach to optimize GINs was proposed from the perspective of integrating potential green roofs (PGRs). A complete and feasible workflow was also established to rapidly, accurately, and cost-effectively extract PGRs, scientifically evaluate the comprehensive landscape connectivity accounting for PGR isolation factors, and practically optimize GINs according to the spatial differentiation of PGRs with high landscape connectivity. This was done by integrating high-spatial-resolution remote sensing, machine learning, morphological spatial pattern analysis, landscape index method, and a minimum cumulative resistance model. A case study in a typical high-density urban area within the Beijing Fifth Ring Road, China demonstrated the applicability and implications of the workflow. The results clearly showed that the study area had a high potential for green roof retrofitting, PGRs with high landscape connectivity could effectively improve the GINs, and the spatial differentiation characteristics of the PGR network optimization benefits provided the scientific guidance for developing targeted ecological strategies. The new approach effectively improves the scientificity and implementability of GINs. It also provides a strong reference for landscape planning and ecological construction in other high-density urban areas facing the contradiction between ecological construction and land scarcity.

Soundscape Evaluation Comparison of Outdoor Activity Space Between Gated and Open Communities.

In communities, outdoor activity space is utilized most often by older adults and children, and the soundscape is very important for its quality. For different community planning modes, such as gated and open communities, focus should be on different soundscape enhancement strategies for outdoor spaces. In this paper, typical samples of activity spaces in a gated community and in an open community were used. The comparison was conducted through soundscape evaluation including an analysis of the dominance of various sound sources, noise annoyance, and the perceptual dimensions of soundscape. The results showed that noise annoyance in the gated community was significantly lower than in the open community, although the noise level was of no significance between the two communities. The community planning mode moderated the relationships among the soundscape perception parameters between the gated and open communities. To reduce noise annoyance in the gated communities, each sound source should be considered; in open communities, traffic noise only should be considered. In a gated community, adding natural sounds to reduce noise annoyance may be a feasible intervention; in an open community, this is not necessary. Besides, there was no relationship between noise annoyance and Eventfulness in an open community, indicating that noise annoyance was insufficient to explain the complex sound environment of the community. China's community planning will gradually shift from a gated community to an open community, making the soundscape of outdoor activity spaces likely to change dramatically in the future. The findings will help urban designers and managers to adopt targeted strategies to improve the soundscape and quality of life of community-dwelling older adults and children.

Soundscape expectations of rural tourism: A comparison between Chinese and English potential tourists.

A questionnaire survey was carried out for a comparative study between Chinese and English potential tourists to examine their soundscape expectation. The results show that while both groups prefer natural sounds most, compared to the English, the Chinese expect natural, livestock, melodic sounds more, and traffic and industrial sounds less. The sound categories related to the interactions between human activities and nature play a more dominant role for the English than the Chinese, in terms of preference of sound sources. On the expectation of a holistic soundscape, function is the most important aspect for the Chinese, while that for the English is sound characteristics; the expected psychological perception for the English is associated with emotional response rather than basic ecology consciousness, as for the Chinese.