There is plenty of proof that environmental noise is a major pollutant in the urban environment. Several approaches were successfully applied for its calculation, visualization, prediction and mitigation. The goal of all strategy plans regards its reduction and the creation of quietness. This study aims to revisit the concept of quietness in the urban environment and attempts to portray a new understanding of the specific phenomena. “Quietness” as a term retains an ambiguity, and so far, it can be described as the lack of something, meaning the lack of noise that is portrayed by means of intensity. Several studies describe quietness as the combination of perceptual soundscape elements and contextual factors that can be quantified, combined, weighed and used as indicators of healthy soundscapes. In this research, the focus is on setting aside all indicators, either measuring the intensity or contextual ones and use solely quantifiable metrics regarding the acoustic environment, thus introducing a new composite index called the composite urban quietness index (CUQI). After testing the CUQI, in order to verify the results of previous research regarding the identification of quiet Areas in the city of Mytilene (Lesbos Island, Greece), the study concludes that CUQI is efficiently functioning even in this early stage of development.
The degradation caused by environmental noise affects the sound identities of several areas, especially at a city level, so there is a need for immediate individual and collective action. This paper focuses on the environmental noise impacts towards the soundscapes of historical landmarks located in the city of Thessaloniki (Greece). Furthermore, it offers an insight regarding a new urban quiet area attribute, since it discovers whether elevation contributes to the formation of their sound identity. The first step of this research utilized the opinion of more than 500 residents of Thessaloniki with the aid of a questionnaire, in order to highlight areas of the city’s historic center with unique soundscapes. The resulted soundscapes were studied and analyzed by gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. Finally, these soundscapes were assessed by sound experts in order to thoroughly describe their sound identities. The Roman and Byzantine landmarks studied, being at lower and higher elevation levels, respectively, presented differentiations regarding noise levels and other soundscape characteristics. This paper proposes a new protocol, according to which the factor of elevation is worth considering during the process of identifying and utilizing urban quiet areas.
Sound is an inseparable part of the living environment and the liveability of the city, whilst environmental noise is a major stressor affecting the urban environment. Several approaches have been applied for its mitigation and the goal of several strategy plans regards the creation of quietness. “Quietness” as a term retains an ambiguity and it can be described, so far, as the lack of noise that is portrayed by means of intensity. The concept of quietness in the urban environment is revisited, in an attempt to reveal a new understanding of the specific phenomena. In this research, the focus is on setting aside all indicators either measuring intensity or contextual ones and use quantifiable metrics regarding the acoustic environment, thus introducing a new composite index called the Composite Urban Quietness Index (CUQI). CUQI comprises two sub-indicators, the Acoustic Complexity Index and the Normalized Difference Soundscape Index. CUQI was tested in order to verify the results of previous research regarding the identification of Quiet Areas in the city of Mytilene. It was concluded that CUQI is effective even in this early stage of development.
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