Human Dimension of the Soundscape: From Individuals to Society - Soundscape Ecology: Principles, Patterns, Methods and Applications - page 125

Table 5.4 Leobon's theoretical classification of urban noises as unpleasant, pleasant, or unusual
Perception
“Unpleasant” “Pleasant” “Unusual”

High-pitched, piercing,
strong and continu-
ous or irregular and
intermittent

Regular sound that
evokes personal
memories,
entertainment

Unexpected, unknown,
strange or foreign;
has emotional
valences

Background noise Hum, urban noise Combination of different

sounds, simultaneous

Remote, not identified
clearly

Mechanical
equipment

Road, railway and
aircraft noise.
Equipment in large
industrial plants and
construction sites

Small industrial plants Alarm sirens, abrupt

braking

Human activity Demonstrations, bells,

sirens, trade,
household noise
(vacuum cleaner,
drill)

Noise of small economic
activity (workshops,
markets),
celebrations. State
and religious holi-
days, entertainment

Doorbell, alarm,
firecrackers

Noises of nature Storms, thunder, wind,

creaking

Birds, rain Cracking, implosion,

falling down

Human presence Neighbors (telephone,

barking)

Games, crunching,
children

Screaming

Speech and
communication

Effects of the human
body

Voice, music Discussion

Source: Reproduced with permission from Lebiedowska ( 2005 )

soundscape in terms of amount of time they heard a certain type of sound and the
volume at which they heard such sound.
In this research a questionnaire was created according to a list of seven types of
perceived sounds: background city, happy people sound, sounds from surrounding
buildings, natural sounds, object sound from people in the park, individual vehicles,
or aircraft sounds, and sad and angry people. For every sound type was requested
the percentage (0 %, 50 %, 100 %) of the time each sound was heard. Also for each
sound type was requested the “average volume” they heard according a scale
ranging from quiet (1) to loud (7). Sound predominance was obtained by
multiplying the two scores.
The perceived restoration was evaluated by eight items articulated in seven
semantic differential scales from disagree to agree.
Four items concerned the recovery:

(1) Renew your energy
(2) Regain the ability to concentrate
(3) Reduce any tension
(4) Become yourself again