Soundscapes: Humans and Their Acoustic Environment (Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, 76) (Original PDF from Publisher)

Joseph A. Sisneros, Arthur N. Popper, Richard R. Fay, Brigitte Schulte-Fortkamp

The idea of “Soundscapes” encompasses all of the noises in one’s surroundings and is not just concerned with the sounds themselves. Instead, it focuses on the connections among people, activities, and places in both time and space. In addition to auditory perception, its interpretation, and responses to the acoustic environment in context, soundscape also includes impacts on the acoustic environment. According to the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 12913-1:2014 Acoustics Soundscape Part Definition and Conceptual Framework, published in Geneva in 2014, the concept of Soundscape describes the “process of perceiving or experiencing and/or understanding an acoustic environment, highlighting general concepts and their relationships: context, sound sources, acoustic environment, auditory sensation, interpretation of auditory sensation, responses, and outcomes”.One can learn more about the acoustic environment and how it affects people by using soundscape. The ISO standard 12931-1 on soundscape offers a significant and exacting distinction in the use of the term “Soundscape.” But it is understandable that some people will find it convenient to use “Soundscape” as a synonym for the actual acoustic environment. These people include planners, designers, laypeople, and even those who are primarily interested in managing the acoustic environment through environmental noise control.By sharing and utilizing the enormous knowledge of all stakeholders involved in noise management and urban planning, soundscape research has the potential to enhance healthy urban settings. Naturally, this demonstrates the necessity of forcing the conversation on noise control to ensure that the details of Soundscapes (i.e., the importance of perception) are taken into account alongside the whole.This book will bridge the gap between soundscape theory and practice; as a result, it will differ from our previous publications, such as “Soundscape and the built environment” (ed. by J. Kang and B. Schulte-Fortkamp CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL 2016), as well as from the respective Special Issues on Soundscapes in 2012 in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (ed. by B. Schulte-Fortk

The challenging process of standardizing Soundscape and its evaluation techniques will serve as the driving force behind this book. The planned volume’s major objective is to report and assess Soundscape developments while taking into account the standardization process and other inputs. The book will also focus on the challenges and solutions in transdisciplinary grounded communication, which is on the one hand related to science but on the other to application, which needs guidance. This book will address the needs in management and planning in urban acoustic environments.

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