The preservation value of urban soundscape and its determinant factors

Abstract Optimization of sound environment is an important aspect of the sustainable development of a city, and preservation of the original good soundscapes is as necessary and crucial as noise control in cities. However, there is still a lack of research on the recognition of urban soundscapes worthy of preservation. The aim of this study is to identify the preservation value characteristics of urban soundscapes and its determinants. Focus group interviews were carried out to explore the preservation value characteristics of the urban soundscapes worthy of preservation. Afterwards, data on preservation value evaluation were collected for different soundscapes worthy of preservation through a laboratory experiment and the weight of each preservation value were identified. Meanwhile, the relationship between the physical indicators and the preservation values were established to find the determinants. It is found that there are five preservation values characterizing the urban soundscapes worthy of preservation, i.e. ecological value, comfortable value, affective value, identifiable value, and practical value. The ecological value is the most important value, followed by comfortable value and identifiable value. The category of sound source is proved to determine ecological value, comfortable value and practical value, while the number of people in the picture and whether the location of the soundscape is a landmark or not decide affective value and identifiable value respectively.