Considering Sound in Planning and Designing Public Spaces: A Review of Theory and Applications and a Proposed Framework for Integrating Research and Practice

The sonic aspects of the urban environment are typically neglected in the process of planning and designing public spaces or only approached negatively through noise mitigation strategies. In this article, we demonstrate the potential of integrating sound in the planning and design of public spaces. By reviewing and synthesizing a diverse body of literature on sound, from the fields of soundscape research, environmental psychology, and urban planning and design, we emphasize the important role of sound in creating positive experiences of urban space. We integrate various theoretical approaches in a framework of experiential aspects of sound to guide both future research and practice in the planning and design of public spaces, thus helping to bridge the knowledge-implementation gap.

Journal of Planning Literature