Soundscape and public realm - a quasi-experimental comparison between Individual Vocabulary Profiling and Public Space Index assessments during COVID-19 lockdown

This paper investigates the individual soundscape attributes in open public spaces that relate to the quality of the public realm. To achieve this, 76 individual soundscape attributes were collected using the Individual Vocabulary Profiling (IVP), an 25 dimensions oft the Public Space Index (PSI) were observed for two public areas. the correlation and differences between the IVP and PSI data are examined. The research presents three key finding: 1) people's judgement of places are significantly influenced by the soundscape at specific moments and locations; 2) five soundscape dimensions emerged as individuals described the public realm: peacefulness, intensity, presence of nature, comfort, and vividness; 3) IVP and PSI indicators demonstrate higher correlation values when subjects utilize "audio" and "visual" attributes, rather than multimodal "audiovisual" attributes. The findings provide empirical support for the proposition that non-acoustic variables play a critical role in shaping the perception of environmental sounds.