Develop a public response model of soundscape for urban landscape garden parks

Developing a public response model of soundscape in parks can provide a basis for the optimization of soundscape design. Three representative urban landscape garden parks were selected in Hangzhou, in which a number of evaluation points were chosen along soundwalk paths. Binaural sounds at each evaluation point were sampled by an artificial head and the landscapes of horizontal view and vertical view were obtained by panoramic photos and satellite images, respectively. An evaluation on soundscape of each point was conducted in laboratory based on virtual reality technology, and the correlations between 17 acoustic indicators, 35 landscape indicators and soundscape satisfaction degree were analyzed. The public response model of soundscape satisfaction degree in parks was developed. Final indicators entering the model were the loudness level of sound, the aggregation index of water, the largest patch index of water and the landscape shape index of roads, and their standard regression coefficients were − 0.666, − 0.561, 0.523 and − 0.310, respectively. The weights of the influences of acoustic and landscape indicators on the satisfaction were 32.3% and 67.7%. When the percentage of vegetation area in park exceeds 15%, its contribution to satisfaction degree will be close to a fixed value (reflected in the constant term of the model). The soundscape satisfaction can be effectively improved by reducing the loudness level of sound in parks, increasing the area of the largest water patch with scattered water patches around it, and reducing the shape complexity of road patches.