Paper short abstract:

This paper presents a qualitative approach to examine complex neighbourhood urban soundscapes in Singapore. It also discusses possible remedies and abatement measures for noise, and relates these to urban planning, policy, design and regulatory trends.

Paper long abstract:

As Asia's urban-regions continue to rapidly expand both horizontally and vertically the issues of ambient and site-specific noise pollution become increasingly important in debates about livability, public health and economic productivity. While broad discussions about livability have in recent years focused on greening and sustainability in many Asian cities, the issue of noise pollution has arguably been downplayed in the drive for outright quantitative growth. The city-state of Singapore — which is seen by many as a role model for economic productivity and urban livability— has recently began to explore how noise is perceived not just at the measurable quantitative level, but also at the more subjective, yet crucial, qualitative level amongst local neighbourhoods. This paper presents a qualitative approach to examine how Singapore residents and community members perceive (or ignore) site-specific noise or vibrations from a variety of sources; and how and why noise is situated in relation to complex neighbourhood urban soundscapes. Our exploratory study also examines possible remedies and abatement measures for noise in the Singapore context and relates these to policy, design and regulatory trends in cities elsewhere. This study will not only contribute to the research on social-psychological perceptions of urban noise and quality of life in urban Asia, but also seeks to relate the perception of soundscapes to quality of life, public health and productivity considerations.