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The Soundscape Quality in Some Urban Parks in Milan, Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni Brambilla

    (CNR Institute of Acoustics and Sensors "O.M. Corbino", Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, Roma 00133, Italy)

  • Veronica Gallo

    (CNR Institute of Acoustics and Sensors "O.M. Corbino", Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, Roma 00133, Italy)

  • Giovanni Zambon

    (Deparment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, Milan 20126, Italy)

Abstract

Urban parks play an important role in preserving and promoting the health of citizens who are often exposed to noise pollution and the stress of daily life. The present study describes the main results obtained from a survey performed in five urban parks in Milan. Measurements of the acoustic environment were carried out in 29 sites together with interviews with 231 users on certain aspects of the parks not limited to merely sound. Acoustic data show that the surveyed parks mostly do not comply with the noise limit issued by the Italian legislation on protected areas. The unweighted 1/3-octave spectrum centre of gravity G and L A50 perform satisfactorily in discriminating among the acoustic environments. Such clear distinction was not observed in the subjective ratings on the perceived quality of the soundscape, likely due to the influence by non-acoustic factors that act as mediators in the assessment. This hypothesis is supported by the collected data on the perceived quality of quietness, which was rated worse than that of the soundscape. Comparing acoustic data with ratings, the perceived quality of the total environment was found to be less dependent on L Aeq than soundscape and quietness.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Brambilla & Veronica Gallo & Giovanni Zambon, 2013. "The Soundscape Quality in Some Urban Parks in Milan, Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:10:y:2013:i:6:p:2348-2369:d:26300
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jesper J. Alvarsson & Stefan Wiens & Mats E. Nilsson, 2010. "Stress Recovery during Exposure to Nature Sound and Environmental Noise," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-11, March.
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    1. Feng Li & Jiali Xiang & Tao Li & Danni Shen & Tian Li, 2022. "Active Indoor Soundscape Design: A Case Study of Ceramic Passive Amplifiers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Karmele Herranz-Pascual & Itziar Aspuru & Ioseba Iraurgi & Álvaro Santander & Jose Luis Eguiguren & Igone García, 2019. "Going beyond Quietness: Determining the Emotionally Restorative Effect of Acoustic Environments in Urban Open Public Spaces," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Eve Burrows & Margaret O’Mahony & Dermot Geraghty, 2018. "How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-11, April.
    4. Virginia Puyana Romero & Luigi Maffei & Giovanni Brambilla & Giuseppe Ciaburro, 2016. "Acoustic, Visual and Spatial Indicators for the Description of the Soundscape of Waterfront Areas with and without Road Traffic Flow," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Lili Tian & Daniel Winterbottom & Juanjuan Liu, 2023. "Soundscape Optimization Strategies Based on Landscape Elements in Urban Parks: A Case Study of Greenlake Park in Kunming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-14, June.

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