Human Dimension of the Soundscape: From Individuals to Society - Soundscape Ecology: Principles, Patterns, Methods and Applications - page 127

5.12 The Value of Soundmarks in the Urban Landscape
As in the aesthetic field, there is primary landscape quality, in the same way, in the
soundscape there are important soundmarks that make the difference.
Soundmarks are important elements in the design of a soundscape. Soundmarks
are passive and active. Passive soundmarks are created by specific objects such as
fountains or sonic sculptures; active soundmarks are the result of interesting
activities.
For instance, water and twittering birds were the sounds most preferred by the
subjects involved in a study by Yang and Kang ( 2005 ) when these elements are
posed in a pool. Music from passengers cars is less appreciated and a source of
annoyance. According to the geometric organization of a square and the presence of
passive objects such as trees or facilities for the young such as skateboarding, the
soundscape changes accordingly. Music is a further important component of the
sonic ambience in a urban square independent of type. Loud music is always
annoying and quiet music may receive more attention.
5.13 The Interactions Between Visual and Acoustic Stimuli
It is recognized that sound-image congruence reinforces environmental preferences
and that incongruities interfere. The scenes that increase the acoustic rating are
those with abundant water and vegetation, but an acoustic disturbance can dramati-
cally reduce this appreciation. On the other hand, natural sound can improve the
negative impact of a built-up environment.
It is well known that the visual landscape associated with sonic ambience
produces an informative space in which characteristics change according to space
and time. In a human-dominated landscape especially the combination of visual and
acoustic cues creates an informative space that can be useful to manage and to
reduce anthropogenic noise, can improve the quality of the soundscape, may better
explain the relationship between sound and human behavior, can improve the
efficacy of planning and designing rural and urban areas and natural parks, and
can offer new audiovisual tools for public awareness and environmental education
(Matsinos et al. 2008 ).
The interactions between visual and acoustic stimuli have received much atten-
tion by researchers.
To evaluate the role of aesthetics in the assessment of the quality of a landscape,
Hetherington et al. ( 1993 ) performed an experiment by tests consisting of the
representation of a combination between video/sound, video/no sound, or static/
no sound, demonstrating the importance of motion when associated with sounds in
rating the quality of a proposed landscape, especially in the presence of significant
dominant elements.