Effects of Evocative Audio-Visual Installations on the Restorativeness in Urban Parks

Road traffic noise is responsible for several negative health effects for citizens in modern cities. Inside urban parks, which citizens use for social inclusion and cohesion, psychological and physical restoration, and physical activities, road traffic noise may significantly reduce the potential of these places to induce or enhance well-being. Although access restriction schemes and screens could be effective solutions to limit noise inside urban park areas, preserving their potential regenerative role may engender mobility, social, aesthetic, and architectural issues. Due to the positive effects that natural elements and water sounds can have on human perception, and based on the previous findings of the beneficial effects of audio-visual installations, this paper investigates the possibility of using audio-visual installations that simply evoke some natural features to improve the restoration of individuals inside urban parks. The study has been carried out using immersive virtual environments in two different experimental laboratory sessions in Hong Kong (China) and Aversa (Italy). The results showed that the positive effects provided by evocative installations were similar to those provided by traditional installations. Furthermore, the effects on the restoration increased as the installations became larger and included enveloping shapes. Furthermore, we found that the amount of evocative water installations’ material was responsible for changes in restoration. In contrast, the Chinese groups were less influenced by these installations.

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Environmental noise, its types and effects on health

Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny ◽

10.32394/rpzh.2021.0147 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 41-48

Keyword(s):

New Technologies ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Human Life ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Well Being ◽

Environmental Noise ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Railway Traffic ◽

The Impact

Noise can be defined as an undesirable sound that pollutes the environment. If noise is continuous and exceeds certain levels, negative effects on health can be observed. In recent years, the impact of environmental noise (road traffic noise, railway traffic noise, air traffic noise and industrial noise) on human health has come under increasingly intense scrutiny. Noise can cause a number of negative effects on health that directly or indirectly affect humans. The occurrence of some certain and harmful health effects drives the onset of others and may contribute to the development of various diseases. Health is not only a state of physical well-being, but also mental well-being. Mental health primarily depends on the quality of life, which can be affected by various environmental factors, such as noise. An important aspect of fighting noise is the most effective protection of the population by avoiding sources of noise and reducing it. This can be achieved by introducing new technical solutions and new technologies, including devices that generate less noise. Another important measure is educating the society and influencing the change of individual and collective behavior, which may contribute to reducing the harmful factor, which is noise in human life, and minimize the resulting negative effects on health.

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Longitudinal surveys on effects of changes in road traffic noise—annoyance, activity disturbances, and psycho-social well-being

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.1639333 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 115 (2) ◽

pp. 719-729 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

Evy Öhrström

Keyword(s):

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Well Being ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Longitudinal Surveys ◽

Noise Annoyance

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Behavioral and Emotional Disorders and Transportation Noise among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16183336 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (18) ◽

pp. 3336 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Melanie Schubert ◽

Janice Hegewald ◽

Alice Freiberg ◽

Karla Starke ◽

Franziska Augustin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Emotional Disorders ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Well Being ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Transportation Noise

Children and adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to environmental influences such as noise which can affect mental well-being. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effect of transportation noise on behavioral and emotional disorders in children and adolescents using a meta-analytic approach. Therefore, we searched four databases (Pubmed, Embase, PsychINFO, and PSYNDEX) and grey literature until February of 2019. We identified 14 articles from 10 studies examining the effect of transportation noise exposure on the mental health of children. These studies predominately used the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and mainly focused on schoolchildren and adolescents aged 9–10 years and 15–17 years in Europe. Three studies could be included in the meta-analysis. In sum, the odds for hyperactivity/inattention and total difficulties was significantly increased by 11% (Odds Ratio, OR = 1.11 (95% Confidence Interval, CI 1.04–1.19), respectively 9% (95% CI 1.02–1.16) per 10 dB road traffic noise. Thus, we obtained evidence for an effect of road traffic noise on hyperactivity/inattention and total difficulties, although we could consider few studies. Future studies are needed that use similar techniques to assess outcomes and exposures at schools and in homes. This would make it possible to conduct an individual participant data pooled analysis of the data.

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Measurements and prediction of road traffic noise along high-rise building façades in Athens

Noise Mapping ◽

10.1515/noise-2020-0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alexandra Sotiropoulou ◽

Ioannis Karagiannis ◽

Emmanouil Vougioukas ◽

Athanassios Ballis ◽

Aspasia Bouki

Keyword(s):

Vertical Distribution ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Morphology ◽

Design Stage ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

High Rise ◽

High Rise Building ◽

Building Facades

AbstractConstant exposure to traffic noise pollution can have significant impact on human health and well being. Occupants of high-rise buildings along noisy traffic arteries are severely affected. In an attempt to contribute to noise protection design of prospective high-rise buildings, traffic noise measurements and prediction using the CRTN (calculation of road traffic noise) model, were made along the façade of a high-rise building in central Athens. The aim was to test the accuracy of this model in predicting the vertical distribution (mapping) of traffic noise along such building façades, under the local urban characteristics of the Mediterranean capital. The predicted and measured noise levels were found to be highly coherent with each other, and their vertical distribution pattern, by and large, confirmed findings from earlier studies. Nevertheless, the predicted values had a tendency of underestimation, with a mean difference −2.2 dB(A) with reference to measured values. It is considered that this underestimation is associated mainly with a newly proposed feature of urban morphology, namely (local) geo-morphology. By and large, it can be inferred that the CRTN model is a useful tool, suitable for the prediction of traffic noise along high-rise building façades during their planning and design stage. The results represent a further step towards more general application of this model, as well as a contribution to the use of this model considering a wider number of urban features.

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