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Effects of Soundscape Complexity on Urban Noise Annoyance Ratings: A Large-Scale Online Listening Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Mitchell

    (Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, London WC1H 0NN, UK)

  • Mercede Erfanian

    (Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, London WC1H 0NN, UK)

  • Christopher Soelistyo

    (Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK)

  • Tin Oberman

    (Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, London WC1H 0NN, UK)

  • Jian Kang

    (Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, London WC1H 0NN, UK)

  • Robert Aldridge

    (Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London NW1 2DA, UK)

  • Jing-Hao Xue

    (Department of Statistical Science, University College London, London W1T 7PJ, UK)

  • Francesco Aletta

    (Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London, London WC1H 0NN, UK)

Abstract

Noise annoyance has been often reported as one of the main adverse effects of noise exposure on human health, and there is consensus that it relates to several factors going beyond the mere energy content of the signal. Research has historically focused on a limited set of sound sources (e.g., transport and industrial noise); only more recently is attention being given to more holistic aspects of urban acoustic environments and the role they play in the noise annoyance perceptual construct. This is the main approach promoted in soundscape studies, looking at both wanted and unwanted sounds. In this study, three specific aspects were investigated, namely: (1) the effect of different sound sources combinations, (2) the number of sound sources present in the soundscape, and (3) the presence of individual sound source, on noise annoyance perception. For this purpose, a large-scale online experiment was carried out with 1.2k+ participants, using 2.8k+ audio recordings of complex urban acoustic environments to investigate how they would influence the perceived noise annoyance. Results showed that: (1) the combinations of different sound sources were not important, compared, instead, to the number of sound sources identified in the soundscape recording (regardless of sound sources type); (2) the annoyance ratings expressed a minimum when any two clearly distinguishable sound sources were present in a given urban soundscape; and (3) the presence (either in isolation or combination) of traffic-related sound sources increases noise annoyance, while the presence (either in isolation or combination) of nature-related sound sources decreases noise annoyance.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Mitchell & Mercede Erfanian & Christopher Soelistyo & Tin Oberman & Jian Kang & Robert Aldridge & Jing-Hao Xue & Francesco Aletta, 2022. "Effects of Soundscape Complexity on Urban Noise Annoyance Ratings: A Large-Scale Online Listening Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:14872-:d:970389
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Enembe Oku Okokon & Anu W. Turunen & Sari Ung-Lanki & Anna-Kaisa Vartiainen & Pekka Tiittanen & Timo Lanki, 2015. "Road-Traffic Noise: Annoyance, Risk Perception, and Noise Sensitivity in the Finnish Adult Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Daniel Steele & Catherine Guastavino, 2021. "Quieted City Sounds during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Montreal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-21, May.
    3. Ferran Orga & Andrew Mitchell & Marc Freixes & Francesco Aletta & Rosa Ma Alsina-Pagès & Maria Foraster, 2021. "Multilevel Annoyance Modelling of Short Environmental Sound Recordings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Almo Farina, 2018. "Ecoacoustics: A Quantitative Approach to Investigate the Ecological Role of Environmental Sounds," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Eline Berkers & Ioana Pop & Mariëlle Cloïn & Antje Eugster & Hans van Oers, 2021. "The relative effects of self-reported noise and odour annoyance on psychological distress: Different effects across sociodemographic groups?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-20, October.
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