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SOUNDSCAPE OF URBAN OPEN SPACES IN HONG KONG

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DOI: 10.1080/10225706.2010.9684151

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SOUNDSCAPE OF URBAN OPEN SPACES IN HONG

KONG
a a
Hui LIN & Kin-che LAM
a
Department of Geography and Resource Management , Chinese University of Hong
Kong
Published online: 03 May 2011.

To cite this article: Hui LIN & Kin-che LAM (2010) SOUNDSCAPE OF URBAN OPEN SPACES IN HONG KONG, Asian
Geographer, 27:1-2, 29-42, DOI: 10.1080/10225706.2010.9684151

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 Lin & Lam

SOUNDSCAPE OF URBAN OPEN SPACES IN HONG KONG

Hui LIN' and Kin-che LAM'

Department of Geography and Resource Management, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Abstract: Open spaces are considered important assets for urban inhabitants. The
acoustic quality in these open spaces can enhance the visitors' experience and enjoyment.
This study attempts to characterize the acoustic environment of urban open spaces in
Hong Kong and unravel how visitors evaluate the acoustic environment. The study
selected 25 urban open spaces of various sizes and types in six districts with different
surrounding land-uses and development history. At these study sites, a total of 1610
visitors were successfilly interviewed and 210 sound recordings were taken. Analysis of
the sound recordings shows that the sound level and sound sources in the selected open
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spaces vary with time and place. Because of the dense road network and proximity of
urban open spaces to the roadways in Hong Kong, trafic noise is the dominant sound
source. Notwithstanding, human voice and sounds from birds and fountain are also
commonly heard. Among these sound sources, visitors generally prefer bird songs and
water sound to other sources. The survey results also show that the acoustic quality
perceived by the visitors is only weakly related to the overall sound level and determined
more by the presence or absence of wanted sound. The finding highlights the importance
of context in the visitors' subjective evaluation of the acoustic quality which has
implications on soundscape design of urban open spaces.

Keywords: soundscape, subjective evaluation of acoustic quality, human perception of

sounds, urban parks, open spaces

Introduction

Hong Kong is one of the densest cities in the world with high rise buildings
juxtaposed to form concrete jungles. In such a compact urban setting, the transportation
network is dense and roadways are often situated just next to residential buildings (Lam,
Chan et al. 2009). The resulted traffic noise is high which can undermine the quality of
urban living. In Hong Kong as well as other cities, public open spaces are highly valued
because they can provide a respite for the urban inhabitants who can escape from the noisy,
crowded and stressful environment. Urban open spaces can enhance the quality of urban
life in many ways. They can ameliorate climate; provide opportunities for leisure and
recreation, and the setting for social interaction. Urban open spaces also provide a
restorative environment where positive attributes of the surrounding can invoke emotional
feelings to nature. Traditionally, the provision of facilities and visual aesthetic through
landscaping is the main consideration in open space design. Little attention has been given
to the acoustic characteristics of urban open spaces. More recently, the acoustic profession
has given increasing attention to the acoustic environment of urban open spaces because
sound is one of the essential ways to perceive and communicate with the world and it can
affect the visitors' experience in the open space. The increasing attention given to the
multi-sensory experience of open space visitors has prompted many to examine the
acoustic quality in the urban open spaces (Yu and Kang 2005; Roy and Snader 2008; Yu
and Kang 20 10).

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2):29-42 (2010)

 30 Soundscape of Urban Open Spaces in Hong Kong

Realization of the importance of the acoustic environment in cities in general and

urban open spaces in particular has prompted many to examine how people appraise the
acoustic environment and to rethink the approach to urban noise control and management.
In the field of environmental acoustics, the soundscape approach has been proposed which
considers the acoustic environment from the perspective of the listeners and analyzes its
entire complexity, emphasizing the way how the acoustic environment is perceived and
understood by the individual and by a society (Tmax 1999; Raimbault and Dubois 2005).
This departs from the conventional approach which appraises sounds merely as a physical
phenomenon and regards most of the urban sounds as unwanted. The soundscape approach
is different from noise control, which has been preoccupied with minimizing exposure to
unwanted sounds rather than creating a pleasant acoustic environment. Soundscape has
hence been increasingly acknowledged as an appropriate approach for study and
evaluation of the acoustic quality in urban open spaces (Lam, Brown et al. 2010).
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There are a few recurrent themes in soundscape research in the last decade. A
notable one is the research on the attributes, acoustic and perceptual, of soundscapes most
favored by people. Another one is to unravel how people perceive and evaluate different
soundscapes (Turner, McGregor et al. 2003; Wong, Lam et al. 2004; Yang and Kang
2005). To elucidate how people appraise soundscapes, Brown (2006) highlighted the
importance of context in which the listening occurs. He suggested a two by two matrix to
depict subjective evaluation of acoustic quality, taking into account the level of sounds
experienced on the one hand; and whether or not particular sounds heard are wanted or
unwanted on the other. Brown's simple framework underpins the significance of context
because a sound which is acceptable in one situation may appear "out of place" in another.
Recent research findings have shown that context is determined by a host of factors,
including the characteristics of place, attributes of the physical environment, personal
expectations, activities undertaken and the social setting (Botteldooren and Coensel 2006;
Brown 2009; Schomer, Brown et al. 2010). To what extent Brown's framework is
applicable in different places has yet to be validated by empirical data and large scale field
surveys.

This paper reports a study aimed at characterizing the acoustic environment of

urban open spaces in Hong Kong using the soundscape approach; and to ascertain if
Brown's framework of soundscape evaluation is applicable in Hong Kong. It is expected
that the findings will contribute to an enhanced understanding of human evaluation of
soundscapes in cities and to better soundscape design of urban open spaces.

Methodology

This study adopts a two-stage procedure to collect the acoustic and human
perception data needed to address the research objectives. The first stage attempted to
identify potential sites for the study. The second attempted to establish the acoustic
characteristics of these sites and to interview the users. Following these steps to be
elaborated below, a total of 25 study sites were selected and 1610 visitors were
successfully interviewed.

Study site selection

The first step in this research is to identify urban open spaces in Hong Kong that
can be selected for further investigation. Recognizing that urban open spaces in Hong

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 Lin & Lam 31

Kong can occur in various shapes and sizes, and some are so small that they do not carry
the name of parks or gardens, a noise mapping exercise was undertaken to identify "quiet"
areas open to the public which can possibly form the pool of candidates for further
investigation. In this study, "quiet" areas are arbitrarily defined as areas exposed to road
traffic noise less than 60 dB (A) expressed in terms of LAeq This is based on the
assumption that traffic noise is the dominant noise in Hong Kong (Lam, Chan et al. 2009)
and visitors to urban open spaces generally expect a relatively quiet place for recreation
and other social activities. The authors are aware that the LAeq60 dB criterion is higher
than the one LA^^ 55 dB) recommended by WHO, but believe that it is more appropriate
to adopt a less stringent criterion in Hong Kong due to the compact urban setting.

Noise mapping was undertaken in six of the 18 administrative districts in Hong

Kong (Table 1) representing different surrounding land use, development history and
population density. For each district, a traffic noise exposure map was produced using the
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digital terrain and building maps, traffic data, noise mapping software LIMA 5.0 and the
GIs software Arcview. Based on the noise maps so produced, areas exposed to road
traffic noise less than 60 dB LAeqwere identified and a total of 25 open spaces were
selected covering different types (urban park, garden, plaza, playground, sitting-out area
and sports ground), sizes, surrounding land use, population density and accessibility. The
typology of urban open spaces follows an earlier study undertaken by one of the authors
(Lam, Baniassad et.al., 2004). It should however be noted that the noise mapping results
only portray the level of exposure to road traffic noise, without taking into account other
sound sources which are also present in the urban environment. Therefore, the noise
mapping results are only used for the selection of study sites in this study; and they may
differ from noise measurement results which comprise all noise sources.

Table 1: Basic information of the study sites.

District Surrounding Land Use Development History Study Sites *Type

Central and Mixed commercial and One of the first developed Status Square 5
Western residential area: the areas in Hong Kong, old Monument 5
central Business District buildings with less than 20- Charter Garden 6
of Hong Kong with old stories are common in
Hong Kong Park 1
residential zone in the Western but modem high-rise
west skyscrapers in Central Harcourt Garden 6
Yau Tsim Mixed commercial and Old urban area Cultural Center 4
Mong residential area, building Avenue of Stars 5
blocks and roads are Clock Tower
interconnecting with
each other in a grid form Kowloon Park
Macpherson
Playground
Sai Yee Street
Garden
Mong Kok Road
Playground

Wan Chai Mixed commercial and Old urban area Victoria Park 1
residential area TLW Garden 6
Wan Chai Park 1

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 32 Soundscape of Urban Open Spaces in Hong Kong

Sha Tin New Town of Hong New town developed since Sha Tin Park 1
Kong the 1980s
Tai Po Newly developed Used to be a simple rural Tai Po Waterfront 1
residential areas with an town, which has been Park
industrial estate in the gradually transformed into a Wan Tau Kok 2
east: with numerous tall thriving modem town over Playground
buildings erected in an the years Wan Tau Kok sitting- 4
orderly manner; a new out area
town with the third Tai Po Central Town 5
lowest population Square
density in Hong Kong Tai Po Tau 2
Playground
Sham Shui Old residential area: Second oldest residential area Shek Kip Mei Estate 4
Po building blocks and Shek Kip Mei Sports
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3
roads are Ground
interconnectingwith Sham Shui Po Park 1
each other in a grid form (1)
Sham Shui Po Park 1
(2)
, Shek Kip Mei Park , 1

*Type: 1= park; 2= playground; 3= sports ground; 4= sitting-out area; 5= plaza; 6= garden

Sound recording and questionnaire survey

At these selected study sites, an intensive field sound measurement and interview
program was undertaken in the summer and autumn of 2008. For sound measurement,
trained research staff was deployed to the study sites to walk around and noted all sound
sources. 15-minute sound recordings were also carried out using binaural microphones
connected to a SONY dual channel digital recorder. The sound recordings were
subsequently analyzed in the acoustic laboratory using the Briiel & Kjar 2250 Investigator
to determine the sound level, intensity, spectrum and other physical attributes. The on-site
field observation and recordings yielded a total of 2 10 sets of measurements and acoustical
data.

A questionnaire survey was conducted at about the same time of sound

measurement and a total of 1610 visitors were successfully interviewed. Despite the
respondents were, strictly speaking, not selected randomly, extra care was exercised to
ensure that visitors of different ages, sex and undertaking activities were sampled. The
questionnaire was prepared initially in Chinese, then translated to English and
subsequently translated back into Chinese to ensure there is no ambiguity in meaning.
Questions were categorized into four parts including: (a) visitation habits in terms of place
of residence, transportation method, visiting frequency, visiting time as well as activities
undertaken; (b) visitors' degree of liking of the overall and acoustic environment
separately; (c) visitors' mention of the sounds they heard on site; and their degree of
preference of 9 individual sounds commonly heard in the open spaces of Hong Kong; (d)
visitors' rating on a range of semantic attributes of the acoustic environment which are
identified collectively as perceptual variables in this paper. Following international
practices, this study employed a 1 to 5 numeric scale, with "1" representing the most
negative opinion and "5" the most positive response.

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 Lin & Lam

Data processing and analysis

The questionnaire data collected in the field was processed and analyzed with
Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) Software. A number of statistical techniques,
including correlation, regression and ANOVA were utilized to analyze the raw data.

Characteristics of the acoustics and visitors of Hong Kong open spaces

Urban open spaces serve a variety of functions, including environmental,

psychological and social, to the urban inhabitants. According to an earlier study (Lam,
Baniassad et al. 2004), the urban open spaces in Hong Kong form a hierarchy comprised
of open spaces of various functions and sizes catering for different groups of people
seeking different facilities and services. To understand how visitors appraise the acoustic
environment of these open spaces, it is necessary first of all to gather information on the
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acoustic characteristics of the study sites as well as the visitors' profile.

Acoustic characteristics

Results of noise mapping show that the quiet open spaces identified are of varying
sizes. The small ones are sporadically scattered amongst tall buildings rendering them
within easy reach by nearby residents. The larger ones are found in large urban parks or in
green belt on the urban fringe. Table 2 presents the summary statistics of the sound level
measured in different types of open spaces of Hong Kong and Figure 1 shows their
respective accumulative frequency curves. The noise measurement results show that most
of the urban open spaces selected in this study are exposed to levels higher than LAeq55
dB which is the criterion recommended World Health Organization criterion for outdoor
environment. The measurement results (Table 2) also show that the mean sound level
varies among different types of open spaces; with lower levels found mainly in larger open
spaces, attributable to the effects of attenuation due to space and distance in larger parks.
Small gardens are generally noisier due to proximity to roadways and the lack of buffer.

Table 2: Sound level of the open spaces in Hong Kong.

Minimum Maximum ( Nominal size
[dB (A11 [dB (A)] of open space
[1000m2]
Park 130 61.0 5.2 74.8 20
Playground 14 61.0 5.4 71.5 10-15
Sports ground 5 61.0 3.6 66.3 10-15
Sitting-out 10 63.6 5.4 71.8 <lo
area
Plaza 21 65.7 4.3
Garden 30 67.2 3.5
*N=Number of 15 min noise measurements

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 Soundscape of Urban Open Spaces in Hong Kong
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Figure 1. Cumulative frequency curves of noise in different types of open spaces.

Table 3 shows the dominant sound source identified by the field staff during field
visits to the study sites. It can be seen that human voice and transport noise are the two
dominant sound sources, the latter attributable to the compact urban setting and dense
roadway network in Hong Kong. In spite of the urban setting, the results also show that
natural sounds are also common, particularly in gardens and playgrounds where sounds
from birds, water are common and prevalent. This is a reflection of the setting where the
provision of trees and greenery also attracts birds. On the contrary, human voice is the
dominant sound source in sports grounds.

Table 3: Dominant sound in different types of open spaces.

Type Sound Source (% of a particular type)
Water Insect Birds Human Traffic Sports others* Total
Voice Noise
Park 17.0 9.7 23.3 15.8 14.3 2.1 17.8 100
Playground 7.1 0.0 28.6 10.7 39.3 14.3 0.0 100
Sportsground 0.0 0.0 15.7 19.6 41.2 15.7 7.8 100
Sitting-out area 25.0 0.0 2.1 50.0 6.2 2.1 14.6 100
Plaza 15.0 0.3 2.9 46.3 13.9 1.5 20.1 100
Garden 8.9 1.1 8.9 33.0 34.6 0.0 13.4 100
*Others sounds include sounds from construction, amplified music, children shouting etc others

Visitors' profile

At each of the 25 study sites, visitors were purposively selected to cover different
sex and age for an interview. Due to the limited number of visitors successfully
interviewed in sitting-out areas in summer when the survey was conducted, the sample
size for sitting-out areas has not reached the requirement for statistical analysis. Hence, the
interview data from sitting-out areas have not been included in subsequent analysis. The
results show that the number of males and females were generally the same. The age

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 Lin & Lam 35

distribution of the respondents was rather wide, ranging from below 18 to over 60, with
various educational background and occupation. Results of the questionnaire survey
indicate that those aged between 41 and 60 made up almost one third of the respondents.
All these indicate that the survey covered a wide variety of people and their responses are
hence representative of the Hong Kong community.

The main activities undertaken by visitors in different types of open space are
presented in Table 4. It can be seen that there is a differentiation of activities in different
types of open spaces whether or not the activities are active or passive, undertaken alone
or together with others. Generally speaking, young students go to sports grounds for ball
games, whereas middle-aged or elderly people visit parks for morning exercise, jogging or
chess and card games.

Table 4: Main activity undertaken by visitors in different types of open spaces.

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Type Percentage (% of a particular type)

*N Walking Sports Meeting Transition Rest Accompany Group Total
friends others activity
Park 964 14.7 16.2 5.8 22.8 11.6 10.8 5.2 100
Playground 77 10.3 24.1 3.4 37.9 13.8 6.9 0 100
Sports 51 4.0 48.0 10.0 10.0 20.0 4.0 0 100
ground
Plaza 339 8.2 4.9 8.0 26.0 10.3 9.5 8.5 100
Garden 179 10.7 5.1 3.9 51.7 7.3 5.6 3.9 100
*N= Sample size

The survey also found that the visitation habits differ among visitors in different
types of open spaces. In parks, visitors may travel from a distant place for scenic
appreciation and keeping the family accompanied. They usually come on weekends and
holidays. In gardens, majority of the visitors are local or nearby residents who come more
frequently and walking is their major activity undertaken, besides those who just pass
through as a convenient connection to transportation nodes. Regarding the playground and
sports grounds, majority of the visitors are children and young students who come after
school for ball games and outdoor fun.

Subjective evaluation of the acoustic quality of urban open spaces

To elucidate how visitors appraise the acoustic quality of the soundscape of the
urban open space, a total of 1610 visitors were asked to evaluate, on a 5 point numerical
scale, the quality of the overall environment as well as the soundscape in the open space
they visited at the time of interview. They were also asked to rate their degree of liking of
the sounds commonly found in urban open spaces in Hong Kong and what kind of source
they would like, and would not like, to hear in that particular open space.

Relationshiu between the acoustic and overall environmental qualitv

Analysis of the interview data showed that there is a close relationship between
visitors' subjective evaluation of the overall environment quality and the acoustic
environment (r=0.594, p < 0.05, n=1610). The statistically significant correlation indicates

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 36 Soundscape of Urban Open Spaces in Hong Kong

that the acoustic environment is an important component of the physical environment of

the open space, highlighting the significance of soundscape.

To unravel what attributes of the acoustic environment visitors prefer, the

respondents were also asked to provide a rating, on the 1 to 5 numeric scale, on the
"quietness", "naturalness" and "joyfulness" of the soundscape of that particular open
space they visited. Table 5 shows the correlation between the acoustic quality score with
the above three perceptual attributes.

Table 5: Correlation between acoustic quality and perceptual attributes of the

soundscape.
Acoustic Quality
Pearson correlation coefficient P
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Quietness 0.792 O.OOO*

Naturalness 0.606 O.OOO*
Joyfulness 0.655 O.OOO*
*statistically significant with confidence interval > 95%

A few observations from the table merit mentioning. First, there is a close
relationship between acoustic quality and quietness, probably reflecting the expectation of
the visitors to look for a quiet environment in urban open spaces. Second, visitors also
treasure, in addition to quietness, other attributes such as naturalness and joyfulness of the
soundscape. This suggests that visitors like sounds from natural sources, such as those
from bird and water structures. Previous research shows that natural sounds may bring
joyful and positive feelings (Carles, Barrio et al. 1999; Truax 1999; Lam, Brown et al.
2010).

To determine the extent to which quietness contributes a good acoustic

environment, a linear regression analysis was undertaken on the subjective rating of
acoustic environment and the measured sound pressure level. The scatter plot (Figure 2)
indicates a general negative correlation between sound level and acoustic quality, yielding
the following regression equation:

Acoustic quality = - 0.064 LA^^ + 7.441 (R' = 0.093, p< 0.001)

It should however be noted that the R~ value is small indicating that only 9.3% of
the variance in acoustic quality is explained by sound level. This result indicates that the
subjective evaluation of acoustic quality is determined by factors other than the sound
exposure level and further investigation is needed to elucidate those factors.

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 Lin & Lam
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Figure 2. Scatter Plot of Sound Pressure Level and Acoustic Quality.

Sound Source Preference

In the search for influencing factors other than sound pressure level, the study
attempted to determine the visitors' preference, on a 1 to 5 numeric scale, for different
sounds. Two questions were posed. Firstly, visitors were asked to indicate their degree of
preference for each of the 9 nominated sounds commonly heard in urban open spaces in
Hong Kong. Secondly, they were asked to name their most favored sound that was heard
at the study site. With regard to the results for the first question (Table 6), the results
shows that bird songs, wind and water sound are the three most preferred sounds. On the
other hand, mechanical sounds from construction, road traffic are the least preferred;
whereas the preference for human voice is in between natural and mechanical sounds. This
differential preference was found to be significant across different open spaces according
to a one-way ANOVA (p < 0.05). This is true for all sound sources with the exception of
construction noise.

Table 6: Mean human preference for different sound sources in different open spaces
on a scale of 1 to 5 (1= dislike most; 5 = like most).

I *N 1 Bird Insect Wind Water Church Machine Traffic Human Children

Bell voice shouting
Park 964 4.47 3.85 4.29 4.29 3.17 1.29 1.35 2.53 3.15
Playground 77 4.03 3.21 3.83 3.86 2.76 1.38 1.66 2.72 3.07
Sports 51 4.35 3.82 4.18 3.96 2.63 1.10 1.20 2.33 2.73
ground
Plaza 339 4.54 3.99 4.45 4.54 3.48 1.27 1.32 2.81 3.19
Garden 179 4.41
I
3.85 4.39 4.14 3.09 1.32 1.36 2.63 3.03
Average I 14.47 3.87 4.33 4.31 3.21 1.29 1.34 2.6 3.13
*N= Sample size

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2):29-42 (2010)

 Soundscape of Urban Open Spaces in Hong Kong

The above finding is also echoed in the results shown in Table 7 in which visitors
were asked to name their most favorite sound at the study site. The results demonstrate
that bird songs and water sound are generally more preferred than other sound sources.
Natural sounds are the most frequently heard sounds which are taken as the sound mark of
urban open spaces; whereas sounds from construction and traffic flow are often not
welcome. It is worthwhile to note that human made sounds are rated higher in plazas than
in other kinds of open spaces. This can be explained by the visitors' expectation that
public places are where people gather and meet. People take it for grant that these places
would be noisy or are not necessarily quiet, where they are generally more tolerant to
noise.

Table 7: Most favored sounds nominated by visitors in different open spaces.

Type I Most favored sound for a particular open space (%)
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*N
Wind Water Insect Birds Soft Children Human
music voice
Park 964 8.9 25.6 7.4 46.2 3.4 2.4 1.9

Playground 77 0 0 0 68.0 0 0 0

51 12.0 4.0 0 68.0 0 0 4.0

ground
Plaza 339 11.6 47.2 0 17.3 2.3 2.3 10.3

Garden 179 7.7 37.7 2.3 39.2 0 0 6.9

*N= Sample size

Testing Brown's Framework o f Soundscape Evaluation

The interview data collected in this study were used to test the evaluation
framework of soundscape evaluation proposed by Brown (Brown 2006a). The crux of
Brown's framework lies in the notion that a sound which is preferred in one place may not
be preferred in another because the context is different. A case in point is human voice.
The results presented above have already shown that while human voice is not a preferred
sound in parks, it is accepted in a public square. Along this line of reasoning, Brown
(Brown 2006b; Brown 2007) proposed a two by two matrix categorizing the acoustic
quality, depending on the overall sound levels and whether the sounds present are wanted
or unwanted. It is hypothesized that the ratings of acoustic quality would be differentiated
by these two criteria.

To obtain the data required to test the hypothesis, visitors were asked what kinds of
sound they would like to hear in urban open spaces in general; and whether they had heard
those sounds that were wanted at that particular study site. In the subsequent data analysis,
"presence" is defined by the presence of one or more "wanted sounds", whereas the
overall sound level is differentiated by the median level of the sound measured at the 210
study sites. Using this method, the median sound level was found to be 62.3 dB (A) in the
present study. The subjective ratings of acoustic quality were classified accordingly into
four scenarios: areas exposed to high sound level with or without wanted sound; and areas
exposed to low sound level with or without wanted sounds. Table 8 presents the result of

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 Lin & Lam 39

subjective evaluation scores of the acoustic quality in the four scenarios based on sound
exposure level and the presence or absence of wanted sounds.

Table 8: Mean evaluation scores of the acoustic quality of four soundscape on a scale
of 1 to 5 (1= dislike most; 5 = like most).

Acoustic Quality
With wanted sounds Without wanted sounds
Sound level Low 3.73 (0.78) 2.96 (0.86)
#
'(< 62.3 dB(A)) N=582 %=55
High 3.40 (1.02) 2.56 (0.88)
#
*(? 62.3 dB(A)) N=777 #N=196
*Figures in parenthesis are standard deviation;
#N = sample size
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It can be seen from the above table that areas with lower sound exposure levels
were given higher scores than those with relatively higher sound levels. Similarly, the
rating scores were also higher in places with wanted sounds than those without. It is
worthy to note that in places with wanted sounds but with relatively high noise levels, the
mean rating of the acoustic quality is higher than that in places without wanted sounds but
with lower overall sound levels. The differences between the four scenarios were found to
be statistically significant according to an ANOVA Test (F (3, 1606) = 84.14, p < 0.001).

The above findings not only substantiate Brown's soundscape evaluation

framework but also lend support to the earlier finding of this study that the influence of the
quietness factor is of limited importance in the subjective evaluation of acoustic quality.
All these findings suggest that subjective assessment of the acoustic quality of an open
space is determined by whether or not the sounds heard are congruent with a particular
context; or in simple terms, whether those sounds are "wanted" in that particular place

Discussion

Two observations can be made from the results presented above. Firstly, sound
level is negatively related to the subjective evaluation of the acoustic quality of urban open
spaces in Hong Kong but the association is weak. Secondly, the presence or absence of
wanted sounds is a significant determinant of the visitors' subjective evaluation of
acoustic quality. Both observations merit further discussion here.

Establishment of the fact that sound level is a statistically significant but weak
influencing factor of perceived acoustic quality of the outdoor environment is probably not
new. Some previous studies have alluded to this postulation (Fiebig and Genuit 2010; Jeon,
Lee et al. 2010). This study has provided the data, based on an intensive survey, to
substantiate that this hypothesis is applicable in Hong Kong urban open spaces. It is
however interesting to note that the same relationship was not observed in a separate study
undertaken by Lam and his team in the countryside of Hong Kong (Lam, Brown et al.
2010). In that study, Lam and his team did not find any statistically significant relationship
between and the subjective rating of the countryside soundscape quality (r = -0.0003,
p = 0.95 1, n=5 18). The apparent difference in findings of these two studies can be ascribed
to at least two factors. Firstly, the context of these two studies is different. This study was

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2):29-42 (2010)

 40 Soundscape of Urban Open Spaces in Hong Kong

undertaken in Hong Kong's urban open spaces whereas Lam's earlier study was
conducted in Hong Kong's countryside. Secondly, the overall sound level where the
studies were undertaken was also different. Unlike Lam's earlier study, this research was
undertaken within the city of Hong Kong where sound levels are high and noise is a
problem to many of the urban inhabitants. It is not surprising that quietness is a, albeit
weak, factor in influencing the subjective evaluation of acoustic quality in this study. This
observation is consonant with the finding of a study undertaken by Kang (Yang and Kang
2005; Yu and Kang 2010) in the urban open spaces in Europe that sound pressure is a
determinant of acoustic discomfort only above a certain level (Yang and Kang 2005).

Another finding of this study which merits special attention is validation of the
simple but useful framework earlier proposed by Brown for the evaluation of the acoustic
quality of different soundscapes. Brown's two-dimensional framework provides a simple
approach to understand the very complex process of human evaluation of acoustic quality.
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The present case study in Hong Kong provides the opportunity to test this framework. As
afore-mentioned, this is one of the few studies which provide concrete data to test and
support Brown's framework. Further work is of course needed to search for other factors
which may affect human evaluation of the acoustic quality of urban open spaces. These
may be socio-economic, demographic or other situational factors.

Validation of Brown's framework highlights the importance of context in the

subjective evaluation of acoustic quality which has significant bearing on soundscape
design. For a long time, management of the acoustic environment in cities has relied on
"noise control" aiming at "reducing" the level of "unwanted sound". The findings of this
study suggest that an alternative approach is warranted. The results indicate that the mere
reduction of noise level has only very limited effects, it is equally important to provide the
physical setting, greenery and plants that is conducive to the creation of sounds which
signify naturalness. Further research is needed to study how urban open spaces should be
accordingly designed and managed to nurture and enhance this natural acoustic
environment.

Conclusion

The importance of urban open spaces in enhancing the quality of life in cities has
been increasingly recognized in recent years. Human experience in these open spaces is
not limited to the landscape and facilities but also to the acoustic environment. This study
attempts to characterize the acoustic environment of urban open spaces in Hong Kong and
to investigate how visitors evaluate the acoustic quality of these open spaces. The study
used noise mapping to identify possible sites, sound measurement to determine the
acoustic attributes of the open spaces and a questionnaire survey to find out how visitors
appraise the acoustic environment. A total of 25 study sites were selected and 1610
visitors were successfully interviewed. The results show that sound level and sound
sources vary with time and place. Road traffic noise is the dominant sound source shaping
the background acoustic environment. Human voice and sounds from birds and fountain
are also heard in the urban open spaces. Among these various sound sources, natural
sounds such as bird songs, wind and water sound are more preferred by the visitors to
man-made sounds from construction and road traffic.

Analysis of the acoustic and visitors' perception data show that while sound level
is a statistically significant factor affecting visitors' subjective evaluation of the acoustic

Asian Geographer 27 (1-2): 29-42 (2010)

 Lin & Lam 41

quality of the urban open spaces, it can only account for a small percentage of the
variations observed. On the other hand, the data obtained support Brown's earlier
postulation that subjective evaluation of the acoustic quality of open space is dependent
not only on the sound level but also on the presence or absence of wanted sound. Our
study shows that the latter factor (i.e. whether the sounds heard are wanted) is more
important than the former. These findings highlight the importance of context, including
the place and the visitors' motivation and activities, in the subjective evaluation of the
outdoor acoustic quality. Where there is congruence between the sound and the context,
there is a condition conducive to a favorable subjective rating of the acoustic quality. This
finding has significant bearing on soundscape design. In the past, much of the attention
has focused on noise reduction; the findings of this study have underscored the
significance of preserving and creating wanted sounds in urban open space design. The
study has also highlighted the importance of soundscape in enhancing visitors' experience
in urban open spaces.
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Endnotes:
1. Corresponding E-mail: helenlin@,cuhk.edu.hk.
2. Corresponding E-mail: kinchelam@cuhk.edu.hk.

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by a Direct Grant from the Faculty of Social Science,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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