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The key concept in the development of the outdoor public open place is the understanding that people living in the chosen area are the “real” experts concerning the evaluation of this place, according to their expectations and experiences of that place. Their knowledge is one of the most important investigative resources. The intention of the scientific research here is to learn about the meaning of the sounds and/or noise to those people, with respect to their living situation, and to implement adequate changes to effect an improvement of this place.
Figures 7a (left) and 7b (right) : Nauener Platz, Berlin, in 2007 and 2009
In the scientific research project “Dynamic arrangement of urban safety cultures” – in the framework of the German “Federal Ministry of Education and Research” (BMBF) – the soundscape approach delivered new insights on the influence of acoustics toward the feeling of safety toward public places. Soundwalks and subsequent narrative interviews with profes- sional security experts as well as local experts widened the field of understanding about modifying the quality of par- ticipant-declared unwanted sounds. The sonic characteristics of the unwanted sounds were traced to the occurrences and situations in those places, with the participants identifying on a subconscious level indicators which then demanded higher attention.
The process of “tuning” urban areas, based on the expertise
of the people’s mind to improve the quality of life, is strongly related to the strategy of triangulation (Schulte-Fortkamp, 2010).This provides the theoretical framework within which to develop the solution and actualize the needed change in
an area. In other words: approaching the field in this holistic manner is a necessary component for success. An effective and sustainable reduction of the number of highly annoyed people caused by noise, and increasing the number of people greatly pleased, is only possible with further scientific endeavors in the area of methods development, and the research and ap- plication of sonic effects.
Community noise implications
In the community noise field, noise level maps can start to provide an understanding of noise reactions and reliably iden- tify perception-related hot spots. Psychoacoustic parameter maps are particularly interesting in areas where the noise levels
Figure 6 : Scaling, Rating, Noting - Soundwalk, Berlin (2008)
As the aim was to rebuild the place into one with social freedom, it was most relevant to involve those people who lived in the area from the very beginning (Figure 6). Therefore, different approaches were carried out to get residents involved by,
for example, public hearings about the intention of renovat- ing the place and meeting with different social groups to determine their different expectations through well-defined workshops. Attention was given to participants’ gender and age, and also to interdisciplinarity in collaboration among the researchers. “Sound walking” with all its evaluation features also provided the attendees of the several groups with a bond- ing quality to the development of “their” new place (Figure 7). This was crucial to the acceptance of the installed features, reflected by the low very level of vandalism after the renova- tion. In 2012 this project was honored through the European Soundscape Award (www.eea.europa.eu).
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