IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirb/v48y2021i7p2073-2092.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of activity-related contexts on individual sound exposures: A time–geographic approach to soundscape studies

Author

Listed:
  • Lirong Kou

    (Sun Yat-Sen University, China)

  • Mei-Po Kwan

    (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

  • Yanwei Chai

Abstract

Noise is an ever-growing problem in cities. Conventional noise mitigation approaches may not necessarily control noise pollution, since whether a sound is perceived as noise is largely influenced by its specific contexts. Based on an activity-centric framework, this study examines the effects of activity-related contexts and measured sound levels based on individuals’ sound evaluations as they undertake daily activities at different geographic locations and times. Data for the study were collected from 33 participants in Chicago (USA) using Global Positioning System-equipped mobile phones, portable sound sensors, and activity diaries. Multilevel logistic modeling was used to examine the relationships among measured sound levels, sound evaluations, and activity-related contexts for each recorded activity of the participants. The results indicate that activity-related contexts significantly influence individuals’ sound evaluations as they perform their daily activities. When activity-related contexts are taken into account, the measured sound levels that individuals experienced when performing an activity are no longer significant in influencing their sound evaluations. These results support the notion that sound is not only a physical feature but also a socio-psychological construct. It is crucial to adopt a human-centric and context-aware approach in urban planning through understanding the circumstances in which a sound is perceived as noise. Such an approach would help improve sound-related urban environments and construct livable and healthy cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Lirong Kou & Mei-Po Kwan & Yanwei Chai, 2021. "The effects of activity-related contexts on individual sound exposures: A time–geographic approach to soundscape studies," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 48(7), pages 2073-2092, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:48:y:2021:i:7:p:2073-2092
    DOI: 10.1177/2399808320965243
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2399808320965243
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2399808320965243?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andy Hong & Byoungjun Kim & Michael Widener, 2020. "Noise and the city: Leveraging crowdsourced big data to examine the spatio-temporal relationship between urban development and noise annoyance," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(7), pages 1201-1218, September.
    2. Mei-Po Kwan, 2018. "The Limits of the Neighborhood Effect: Contextual Uncertainties in Geographic, Environmental Health, and Social Science Research," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 108(6), pages 1482-1490, November.
    3. Chen, Jie & Shaw, Shih-Lung & Yu, Hongbo & Lu, Feng & Chai, Yanwei & Jia, Qinglei, 2011. "Exploratory data analysis of activity diary data: a space–time GIS approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 394-404.
    4. Chong Ju Choi & Carla C. J. M. Millar & Caroline Y. L. Wong, 2005. "Knowledge and Cities," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Knowledge Entanglements, chapter 0, pages 39-51, Palgrave Macmillan.
    5. Mei-Po Kwan, 1999. "Gender, the Home-Work Link, and Space-Time Patterns of Nonemployment Activities," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 75(4), pages 370-394, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kan, Zihan & Kwan, Mei-Po & Liu, Dong & Tang, Luliang & Chen, Yang & Fang, Mengyuan, 2022. "Assessing individual activity-related exposures to traffic congestion using GPS trajectory data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. Yanlong Guo & Xuemei Jiang & Linfu Zhang & Han Zhang & Zuoqing Jiang, 2022. "Effects of Sound Source Landscape in Urban Forest Park on Alleviating Mental Stress of Visitors: Evidence from Huolu Mountain Forest Park, Guangzhou," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-22, November.
    3. Su Wang & Huaidong He & Fulong Li & Qingqing Xiao, 2023. "A Study on the Soundscape of Underground Commercial Space in Lu’an City and Hefei City, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-17, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shen, Yue & Kwan, Mei-Po & Chai, Yanwei, 2013. "Investigating commuting flexibility with GPS data and 3D geovisualization: a case study of Beijing, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 1-11.
    2. Downs, Joni A. & Horner, Mark W., 2012. "Probabilistic potential path trees for visualizing and analyzing vehicle tracking data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 72-80.
    3. Matthew Hobbs & Melanie Tomintz & John McCarthy & Lukas Marek & Clémence Vannier & Malcolm Campbell & Simon Kingham, 2019. "Obesity risk in women of childbearing age in New Zealand: a nationally representative cross-sectional study," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(4), pages 625-635, May.
    4. Spielman, Seth E. & Yoo, Eun-hye, 2009. "The spatial dimensions of neighborhood effects," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1098-1105, March.
    5. Dominic Regan & Gene Tunny, 2008. "Venture capital in Australia," Economic Roundup, The Treasury, Australian Government, issue 1, pages 1-13, March.
    6. Junghwan Kim & Mei-Po Kwan, 2018. "Beyond Commuting: Ignoring Individuals’ Activity-Travel Patterns May Lead to Inaccurate Assessments of Their Exposure to Traffic Congestion," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-20, December.
    7. David Rigby, 2012. "The Geography of Knowledge Relatedness and Technological Diversification in U.S. Cities," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1218, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Oct 2012.
    8. Ana María Fernández-Maldonado & Arie Romein, 2012. "The Sustainability of Knowledge-related Policies in Technology-based Cities in the Netherlands," Chapters, in: Marina van Geenhuizen & Peter Nijkamp (ed.), Creative Knowledge Cities, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Lo, A. W.-T. & Houston, D., 2018. "How do compact, accessible, and walkable communities promote gender equality in spatial behavior?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 42-54.
    10. Pierre-Alexandre Balland & David Rigby & Ron Boschma, 2015. "The technological resilience of US cities," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 8(2), pages 167-184.
    11. Willem R. Boterman & Lia Karsten, 2014. "On the Spatial Dimension of the Gender Division of Paid Work in Two-Parent Families: The Case of Amsterdam, the Netherlands," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(1), pages 107-116, February.
    12. Tao, Yinhua & van Ham, Maarten & Petrović, Ana & Ta, Na, 2023. "A household perspective on the commuting paradox: Longitudinal relationships between commuting time and subjective wellbeing for couples in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Miwa Matsuo, 2020. "Carpooling and drivers without household vehicles: gender disparity in automobility among Hispanics and non-Hispanics in the U.S," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1631-1663, August.
    14. Ron Boschma & Carlo Gianelle, 2014. "Regional Branching and Smart Specialisation Policy," JRC Research Reports JRC88242, Joint Research Centre.
    15. Clara Turner & Marco R Di Tommaso & Chiara Pollio & Karen Chapple, 2020. "Who will win the electric vehicle race? The role of place-based assets and policy," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 35(4), pages 337-362, June.
    16. Patrick S Vitale, 2017. "Making science suburban: The suburbanization of industrial research and the invention of “research manâ€," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(12), pages 2813-2834, December.
    17. Dongyang Yang & Chao Ye & Jianhua Xu, 2021. "Land-Use Change and Health Risks in the Process of Urbanization: A Spatiotemporal Interpretation of a Typical Case in Changzhou, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-13, August.
    18. Thomas Skora & Heiko Rüger & Nico Stawarz, 2020. "Commuting and the Motherhood Wage Gap: Evidence from Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-19, July.
    19. Jean-Dominique Polack & Philippe Taupin & Hyun In Jo & Jin Yong Jeon, 2022. "Urban Soundscapes in the Imaginaries of Native Digital Users: Guidelines for Soundscape Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-17, January.
    20. Joachim Scheiner & Christian Holz-Rau, 2017. "Women’s complex daily lives: a gendered look at trip chaining and activity pattern entropy in Germany," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 117-138, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:48:y:2021:i:7:p:2073-2092. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.