1. Group Leader: Klaus Genuit Rapporteur: Kin-che LAM COST ACTION TD0804 Workshop Edinburgh, 29-30 October, 2009 Report from Group 2

2. What are we talking about? People is at the centrality of soundscape It is about how people feel? It is an affective dimension, with respect to –Identity of, and association with, a place –Experience – positive & negative –Sound as a resource to plan & manage

3. What are we “not” talking about? Soundscaping => To provide a pleasant acoustic environment It is NOT only about environmental noise control –Environmental noise is part of the soundscape, but noise reduction alone is not soundscaping –Soundscaping – enhancement of the acoustic environment (positive rather than curative) –There is a limit on what noise control can do, particularly in dense cities –Soundscaping is an alternative approach to noise control

4. Soundscape from Different Perspective Not all players are the same Importance of including politicians & policy-makers Interdependence of key players – scientists to understand & theorize – planners to put into practice – politicians to mandate and finance – all for the benefit of the public (i.e. users)

5. Perspective of Stakeholders _ User Users – most important stake-holder group, their well being is our concern. Need to increase their awareness Future of soundscape depends on how much we can meet the needs of users Pleasant soundscape provides a good restorative environment Education program needed for the public, for their benefit and for influencing the politicians

6. Perspective of Stakeholders _ Urban Planners Planning profession is picking up the soundscape concept and appreciating its potential Need for soundscape guidelines & good practices for a good acoustic environment Early incorporation of soundscape considerations in the planning process is badly needed

7. Perspective of Stakeholders _ Scientists Searching for indicators & (minimum) set of indicators, one single indicator is not sufficient Understanding of how people respond to sound Need to develop a tool kit to assess plan so that we can say with reasonable certainty that one soundscape is better than the other The work on sound recognition has made some progress, it is only the first few steps in a long journey

8. Perspective of Stakeholders _ Politicians …. they want Politicians look for numbers & simple indicators; and relevance of soundscape to their portfolio. The science community has to work hard. We need to highlight limitation of conventional noise control approach, to highlight the benefits of having pleasant soundscapes. Soundscape is about Quality of Life and sustainability. We need to demonstrate the relevance of soundscape to the society and to the work of the politicians.

9. How to bring soundscape into practice? Enhance Understanding – how people feel a soundscape, not just about dBA Increase awareness – benefits of having a pleasant sonic environment; and costs of not having it Soundscape professionals should be the agent of change – mindset changing & convincing practitioners and politicians

10. Top Priority Tasks For urban planners – develop guidelines and best practices of good soundscape design Politicians – Win their support –To indirectly solicit more funding for soundscape research –Soundscape must not been as something that may distract them from their routine work; but something they can do their job better Soundscape community –Need to develop methodology, indicators, research programs on how people respond; and theorization –Synergy through networks & workshops

11. 林健枝 HonFCIWEM, FHKIEIA, MHKIOA, SBS 电邮 : kinchelam@cuhk.edu.hk