Relationship between spatiotemporal variability of soundscape and urban morphology in a multifunctional urban area: A case study in Seoul, Korea

This study presents a new perspective on interrelationships among spatiotemporal patterns in soundscape, acoustic and urban morphological indicators. Spatiotemporal characteristics of soundscapes in a multifunctional urban area of Seoul, Korea were analyzed. Physical acoustic and perceived soundscape data were collected during three different daytime sampling periods. Urban morphological indicators representing building, road, open public space, and water feature components, were analyzed to quantify urban textures. Spatial and temporal factors were found to play critical roles in urban soundscapes. Regarding spatial patterns in soundscapes, urban soundscapes were characterized based on the main function of spaces. The temporal variability of soundscapes in urban spaces depended on diurnal patterns in perceived sound sources. Particularly, the perception of birdsong and sounds from human activities showed considerable variation across urban spaces. In addition, significant correlations were found among the spatiotemporal patterns in soundscape, acoustic and morphological factors. Based on the acoustic and morphological indicators, pleasantness and eventfulness models were proposed and the results indicated that the pleasantness model explained 50% of the variance, while the eventfulness model only predicted 13% of the variance. The results from the present study showed that urban morphological factors could be useful indicators for better understanding soundscapes in urban environments.