Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200

Sound inuence on landscape values

Luis Carlesa,*, Isabel Lo pez Barrioa, Jose Vicente de Luciob Jose
b a stica (CSIC) C/ Serrano, 144. 28006, Madrid, Spain Instituto de Acu a, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain Departamento de Ecolog

Received 6 November 1997; received in revised form 27 July 1998; accepted 13 October 1998

Abstract In order to study the inuence of the interaction between visual and acoustic stimuli on perception of the environment, 36 sound and image combinations were presented to 75 subjects. The sounds and images used were of natural and semi-natural settings and urban green space. Affective response was measured in terms of pleasure. The results show a rank of preferences running from natural to man-made sounds, with the nuance of a potential alert or alarm-raising component of the sound. The potential for alert or alarm-raising may be related, over and above the information content or meaning, to the characteristics of the sound frequency spectrum, specically to the existence of frequency bands whose sound levels impose themselves on the acoustic background. The congruence or coherence between sound and image inuences preferences. Coherent combinations are rated higher than the mean of the component stimuli. Results suggest that there is a need to identify places or settings where the conservation of the sound environment is essential, because of its salient informational content or due to the drastic impact of the loss of sound quality on observer appreciation, for example, in urban green spaces, natural spaces and cultural landscapes. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Soundscape; Perception; Acoustic; Ecology

1. Introduction The perceptual interaction between image and sound has been amply dealt with in laboratory studies (Stein and Meredith, 1993; Meredith et al., 1987). In an experiment carried out in an anechoic chamber in which stimuli were electronically generated, Parlitz and Colonius (1993) conrmed the signicant inuence of visual parameters in the appraisal and perception of sound. They concluded that different sensory stimuli, auditory and visual, converge in `multi*Corresponding author. Tel.: +349-34-1-5618806; fax: +349-341-4117651; e-mail: iaclb41@fresno.csic.es 0169-2046/99/$19.00 # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII S0169-2046(98)00112-1

sensorial' neurones which govern functions like spatial ability and orientation. Environmental studies usually deal with sound in its noise or pollutant facet, and rarely as an informative or orientational element. The information function of a landscape, however, is not circumscribed to this aggressive aspect. A landscape totally devoid of sound would certainly prove disturbing or unnerving. A number of studies in recent years have coincided in stressing the key role of soundscapes (Schafer, 1976) in environmental evaluation. Several authors have attempted to identify the informational, aesthetic or affective qualities of sound which help to confer quality on a given landscape.

192

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200

Some isolated approaches to this matter have also been made from the elds of geography and environmental psychology. Southworth (1969), for instance, in a pioneering study which charted the reactions of different population groups during a tour round Boston, showed that people's evaluation of a city's sound environment depends on three aspects: the information contained in the sound, the context in which it is perceived and its level. Anderson et al. (1983) found that any appraisal of a given place depended largely on the sounds heard there. The authors used a variety of procedures such as in situ evaluation, questionnaires setting out verbal descriptions of sounds, and slides accompanied by recorded sounds. Herrington et al. (1993) studied the validity of different media for representing landscapes with signicant dynamic elements. More recently Viollon and Lavandier (1997) studied the inuence of visual on auditory components in urban landscapes. Their ndings were that visual conditions modify the auditory perception of subjects to a signicant degree. Generally speaking the results of these studies indicate that both the emotional meaning attributed to a sound and the importance of the context in which it occurs determine the degree of liking felt for a particular landscape. In a research project involving 127 school pupils aged 11 and 12, asked to rate combinations of four sounds and eight landscape photographs (Carles et al., 1992) it was found that ``a general factor of congruence may be evoked to explain most of the observed interactions.'' Appraisal of a sound depended largely on the extent to which it matched with the setting in which it occurred (e.g. natural sounds in a natural setting). When sounds are not appropriate to the context in which they are perceived and do not provide readable information on the same (trafc circulation in a natural landscape) they are perceived as `noise' and negatively rated. Apparently sounds provide a specic kind of information over and above the visual which helps enhance and emphasise the different components of the environment. In a eld study carried out in three Spanish pez Barrio and Carles, 1995), it was shown cities (Lo that the acoustic identity of different urban environments inuenced subjects' evaluation of these places.

The aim of this study is to analyse the soundimage coherence in greater depth, identifying the specic contribution of each stimulus to the total landscape value. In short, our aim is to show how the acoustic impact on landscapes and, in particular, on those most highly regarded by the population, can signify a loss of environmental quality which until now has been barely considered. This study, specically, starts from the hypothesis that the suspicion of activities deleterious to the landscape awoken by the presence of unexpected sounds gives rise to high levels of rejection among subjects. 2. Methods Sound ratings can be carried out either in situ or in the laboratory. As regards the rst category, we would cite the approach to soundscapes developed in the 1970s (Schafer, 1976), which seeks to centre acoustic analysis strategies on honing the listening skills of the hearer through techniques like the soundwalk which are also clearly educational. Laboratory procedures, in the meantime, generally make use of pre-recorded sounds or methods using verbal descriptions of sounds. Some studies extend their scope beyond sound to visual characteristics, essentially through the use of slides. In general, projects on environmental preferences and attitudes confront the difculties which human beings face in expressing feelings, emotions or ideas. This difculty is exacerbated in the case of sound, as environmental analysis has tended to deal with sound environments in relation to noise, making it harder to talk about sounds in terms which avoid this pez Barrio negative connotation (Amphoux, 1991; Lo and Carles, 1997). In our case, we start from the idea that the method to be used in a project like the present one must not only sufciently effective to overcome the above-mentioned difculties in expressing or representing sound, but must also prove simple and comfortable for survey participants. This can be achieved through the use of direct stimuli, in our case slides and recorded sounds. To conclude, we hope that the procedures used in our study will facilitate, as far as is possible, automatic responses and an objective and precise evaluation of one particular aspect of the environment, that of sound preferences. An aspect on which there exist few

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200 Table 1 Acoustic and visual stimuli selected Sounds Village Stream with birdsong Busy park Thunderstorm Quiet park Residential neighbourhood Images Village Stream Park with children Steppe Empty park Residential neighbourhood

193

similar to a steppe, and the sound of a thunderstorm. The sample thus comprised 36 different soundimage combinations. The sound fragments chosen combined a number of elements to make up a simple, easily recognisable soundscape in which each part was clearly distinguishable. Each fragment lasted around 30 s. 2.2. Procedure The visual and sound stimuli were presented rst separately and then in varying combinations (Table 2). Subjects had to rate, rst, each image (Ii), then each sound (Si) and nally, each combination (Ii/Si) in terms of pleasure on a ve-point scale (1 very unpleasant; 5 very pleasant). Application of the test took around 25 min. Valuations of images, sounds and combinations were carried out in the same order, in a single session, by the 75 individuals participating in the experiment. It was not considered necessary to randomise the sample on the grounds that both sounds and images are independently perceived. Also, the fact that the number of participants (75) was far smaller than the number of possible combinations (6!) to be made with visual and acoustic stimuli would make randomisation more difcult. Images and sounds were presented to groups in an acoustically conditioned room under good conditions of visibility. Participants were placed at a distance of between 4 and 10 m from high delity loudspeakers and efforts were made to ensure that each one was in a similar stereophonic space. Equipment comprised a Sony DAT (Digital Audio Tape) player (TDC-D10 PRO) with an amplier and high delity loudspeakers. The images were shown on slides projected against a screen. Responses were written down by each participant on a pre-prepared template.

analysis procedures and little theoretical knowledge sufciently tried and tested, above all if we compare with the wide body of knowledge existing about visual preferences. 2.1. Stimuli Six images and six sounds were selected covering natural and semi-natural scenes and urban green spaces (parks) on a parallel variability scale of similar environmental situations (Table 1). Sounds ranged from the purely natural, without human presence, to those containing voices or mechanical sounds caused by anthropic activity. In choosing the images a balance was sought between built-up and natural elements. Exclusively urban images without any natural element were excluded from the selection. In ve cases the correspondence between sound and image represented the most likely association in reality. Natural sounds are normally associated with gentle variations in volume and tone. Likewise natural landscapes are associated with an abundance of vegetation. In view of this, and in order to provide a wider range of stimuli, a sixth visual element was included comprising a natural image but with very little greenery,

Table 2 Presentation sequence of the 36 soundimage combinations (topbottom and leftright) Sounds V Village S Stream B Busy park T Thunderstorm Q Quiet park R Residential neighbourhood Images v village w stream c park with children s steppe e empty park r residential neighbourhood Combinations Vv Vw Vc Vs Ve Vr Ww Wc Ws We Wr Wv Bc Bs Be Br Bv Bw Ts Te Tr Tv Tw Tc Qe Qr Qv Qw Qc Qs Rr Rv Rw Rc Rs Re

194

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200

2.3. Sample Survey participants were 75 university students (43 women and 32 men) aged between 21 and 30 (average age 23). Valuations of both images, sounds and combinations were carried out in the same order by all 75 participants. 3. Results 3.1. Evaluation of sounds and landscape images Firstly, to indicate that the inter-rater reliability ratio (Carmines theta) applied to combination ratings was 0.83. Presented separately, sound and image sets received a similar average rating (Table 3): sounds: 3.55; images: 3.65. The scoring range for each group of stimuli was also very similar. The maximum scores in both cases corresponded to the sound and image of the stream: 4.60, sound and 4.48, image. The residential neighbourhood (open development) received the lowest rating: 2.25, sound and 2.40, image. Excluding the

image of the steppe and sound of the thunderstorm, which do not match up, the ranking of preferences was the same for each set: stream, village, quiet park, busy park and residential neighbourhood. An overall preference is evident for natural and rural rather than urban or man-made scenes. Sounds in which voices and domestic animals predominate, like the village, attract a higher rating than urban parks. This kind of sound environment comes within the general concept of cultural landscape, a frequent subject of the literature on landscape conservation (Stanners and Bourdeau, 1995). The thunderstorm sound scored slightly higher than pleasant (4.10), and received the highest rating of all those sounds including articial components, and the lowest of all the natural sounds. The steppe image was rated slightly less than pleasant (3.77), and achieved a similar score to the empty park and higher than the images depicting built-up elements. Subjects were more discriminating in their preferences when asked about soundimage combinations. The average valuation range was wider, running from 4.68 (image and sound of stream) to 1.77 (image of stream and sound of busy park). The evaluation of

Table 3 Mean scores (in bold) and standard deviation obtained by different soundimage combinations Images Sounds Village Stream Busy park 2.80 0.93 1.77 0.85 2.88 0.96 1.79 0.86 2.23 0.91 2.04 0.81 2.25 0.99 3.37 0.95 Thunderstorm 3.91 0.97 4.03 1.15 2.99 1.18 4.05 1.08 4.21 1.03 3.11 1.07 3.72 1.18 3.77 1.09 Quiet park 3.52 0.99 3.11 1.13 2.49 0.83 3.12 0.87 3.75 0.84 3.04 0.76 3.17 0.99 3.80 0.75 Residential neighbourhood 3.19 0.97 1.89 0.86 1.92 0.98 1.84 0.90 2.19 0.91 2.43 0.79 2.24 1.01 2.40 0.80 Combination means/standar deviations " x s 3.61 1.06 3.14 1.44 2.70 1.07 3.12 1.35 3.41 1.26 2.75 0.98 Separate sound means/standar deviations " x s 4.14 0.71 4.60 0.63 2.79 0.76 4.10 1.00 3.13 0.98 2.55 0.76 " x 3.55 s 0.81

village stream park with childern steppe empty park residential neighbourhood Combination means/standar deviations Separate image means/standar deviations

" x s " x s " x s " x s " x s " x s " x s " x s

43.7 0.67 3.37 1.17 3.09 0.99 3.85 0.90 3.92 0.98 3.27 0.99 3.65 1.05 4.11 0.53

3.89 1.03 4.68 0.70 2.80 1.03 4.08 1.02 4.19 0.86 2.61 0.87 3.71 1.19 4.48 0.60

" x 3.66 s 0.79

Average score and standard deviation of sounds heard in the absence of images and images seen in the absence of sounds.

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200 Table 4 Variance analysis on scores of soundimage combinations Source Sound Image Interaction Error
a

195

Sum of squares 1128.10 291.49 411.71 2397.12

df 5 5 25 2664

Mean square 225.62 58.30 16.47 0.90

F-value 250.74a 64.79a 18.30a

p < 0.01.

each visual or auditory stimulus was substantially modied by the presence of another stimulus, suggesting that the sum of the two gives subjects a greater basis for judgement. The differences in the scores of each land and soundscape are statistically signicant, both for images and sounds taken separately and interacting (Table 4). As we can see from Table 3, the mean value of soundimage combinations is not the same as the mean score obtained for each stimulus individually. In general, coherent combinations of sound and image are more highly rated than the mean of each component stimulus (Fig. 1). The congruence or coherence effect has already been reported in previous experiments (Carles et al., 1992) and may be related to the coherence variable found in studies on visual land-

ldez, 1985; Kaplan et al., 1987) and, scape (Berna more classically, with the coherence concept used s, 1979). in aesthetic psychology studies (France Certain sounds consistently increased the scores of both urban and rural or natural images. This was the case in our experiment with the sounds of the stream and the thunderstorm. Natural sounds, particularly of water, help create positive feelings towards the landscape. The attraction of the presence of water in landscapes has been interpreted as expressing the qualities of survival and fertility ascribed to this ldez et al., 1989). element (Schafer, 1976; Berna The most highly rated combination was the sound and image of a stream, while the lowest score was accorded the combination of the stream image and the sound of the busy park. These appraisals would seem to arise from the specic effect of the sound of water and the importance of soundimage congruence. The sound of the stream, in the meantime, usually increased the value assigned to images. The images of city parks were more appreciated when subjects did not hear their real sound content, evidencing how such landscapes lose quality as the sound environment deteriorates. Many people would prefer to nd more silence in a park, considering its real function, or, even better, the sounds of nature.

Fig. 1. Sound and image means. (a) Bar chart corresponding to the mean values assigned by subjects to sounds with and without the presence of images. V Village, W Stream, B Busy park, T Thunderstorm, Q Quiet park, R Residential neighbourhood. (b) Bar chart corresponding to the mean values assigned by subjects to images with and without the presence of sounds. V Village, W Stream, C Park with children, S Steppe, E Empty park, R Residential neighbourhood. Fig. 1 sets out the mean scores of each of the stimuli used in this experiment (both sound and image) and, therefore, the variation in ratings before and after their combination. We can see from the figure how those combinations in which sound and image fit perfectly together receive a higher rating than that assigned to component stimuli when they are rated separately. The most congruent combinations attract higher scores than their individual components.

196

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200

Fig. 2. First and second dimension of the correspondence analysis of the evaluation matrix of soundimage combination stimuli. Evaluation styles or trends are represented through a system of co-ordinates or dimensions which can be interpreted by the position of the variables or stimuli used in the survey. We observe (solid line) a differentiated rating for natural, rural and urban environments. Dimension II of the correspondence analysis shows a gradient in which humanised and natural sounds are located at opposing extremes, configuring a sounddefined axis. Also shown (broken line) is the different grouping of combinations in which sound and image make up coherent as opposed to incoherent combinations. The figure confirms the differing distribution of sounds in accordance with their alarm or alert capacity. This distribution may be related to the physical characteristics of the sound (see Fig. 3).

In order to track the complex mutual inuences at work between sounds and images, we carried out a correspondence analysis. This procedure allows regular patterns or trends in subjects' responses to be

picked out. Evaluation styles or trends are represented through a system of co-ordinates or dimensions which can be interpreted by the position of the variables or stimuli used in the survey.

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200

197

Fig. 3. Tri-dimensional graphs corresponding to the frequency spectrum analysis of the six sounds studied, according to their perception. The three axes of this analysis correspond to the measurements of frequency (width), measured in barks, time (depth), and amplitude (height), measured in sons. A bark is each one of the intervals obtained by dividing the audible spectrum (from 45 Hz to 20000 Hz) into 24 frequency groups. This scale is fairly similar to the division of the octave into thirds.

The distribution in space of the combinations allows different groupings to be distinguished with regard to both relative distances (the proximity or distance of each combination from others) and their locations versus the axis midpoints. The rst two dimensions of the correspondence analysis account for 61.68% of the total variance of

the data matrix. Fig. 2 shows a projection of sound image combinations on the plane formed by these two dimensions. The rst dimension shows a gradient associated with sound characteristics in terms of their alarm or alert content. Located at the positive end of axis 1 are combinations with the storm, busy park and open residential neighbourhood.

198

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200

Spectral analysis of sound in the three dimensions of frequency, loudness and time denotes, as can be observed in Fig. 3, the presence of narrow bands corresponding to the specic pitches produced by voices, dogs, car horns, thunder, etc., which stand out from the background noise. This frequency analysis by barks takes into account the auditory amplication curves to obtain the frequency distribution of sounds, exactly as they are after being submitted to the auditory mechanism, and therefore just as the subject perceives them (Zwicker and Fastl, 1990). These sound signals vary in time, with attentiondrawing sounds of an intrusive or penetrating nature successively appearing and disappearing (Fidel and Teffeteller, 1981; Bjork, 1986, 1995). In contrast, the stream, village and peaceful park, although their frequency components are many, display only moderate variations in loudness in which no single band predominates over the rest of the spectrum. Alarm or alert capacity is a very concrete aspect of the information content of sound which appears to play a crucial role in landscape appreciation. As we can see from Fig. 2, the second dimension shows the naturalnessarticiality gradient of scenes according to the sounds present. The positive pole groups combinations with man-made sounds, while combinations with natural sounds are located at the negative end. Combinations attracting a low rating tend to be located at the positive extreme corresponding to articial settings. The combinations of manmade sounds with whatever kind of image also tend towards the positive end of the co-ordinate axis. 4. Discussion 4.1. Components of soundscape preferences: Naturalness and alarm. Both image and sound interact in perception of the general quality of landscape The different analyses carried out in this research project allow us to verify the importance of the sound component in determining preference variations. Specically, the correspondence analysis shows that when sounds are taken separately, they tend to receive more consistent ratings than images, whose position in the system of co-ordinates would be better explained in relation to the accompanying sound.

The results of correspondence analysis point to two main functions of sound in the landscape as regards the providing of information which complements visual data. One such function is related to the interpretation of the sounds identied (water, birdsong, voices, cars, etc.), the other is related to the abstract structure of sound information. Natural sounds are rated positively, and increase appreciation of natural and articial settings. Many natural sounds (especially the sound of water) help to enhance both the images of natural environments and of urban spaces by projecting onto them a meaning other than that derived from the image in isolation. In this regard, the experiments carried out by Bjork (1986, 1995), show how the sounds of water and of birdsong (excepting alarm calls) have greater ability than human sounds to induce states of relaxation, as analysed from selected psychophysiological parameters (heart rate, skin conductance and electromyographic responses). The ndings on natural soundscapes are consistent with those relating to the visual landscape. Likewise, it has been found that natural landscapes are particularly sensitive to the presence of man-made sounds. The results of this study also show how human sounds (voices, footsteps, conversations, etc.) t in relative to natural sounds (highly rated) and technological sounds (widely rejected). Apparently this kind of sound, when it appears as an element of communication, of social intercourse adds to an appreciation of humanised spaces (whether in a rural or urban setting), although in some cases (shouts, noise...) it may clash with the aspirations attached to specic sites, for example, peace and quiet in an urban park. In other cases, man-made sounds can denote the existence of activities which are not present in the image, and signal a deterioration in the environmental quality of the landscape. In our experiment, rural sounds tended to occupy a halfway point between the most purely urban and natural sounds. This kind of soundscape could well represent a part of our acoustic heritage which is being lost, together with other aspects of traditional cultural landscapes. The second facet of the information content of sound is more closely associated to its physical structure in terms of ability to produce alarm or alert. This kind of information may be related to the most

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200

199

primitive, instinctive aspects of auditory perception as regards how the information is processed by the brain. Their function would be the rapid detection of environmental sound patterns, facilitating, for example, the recognition of signals of alarm or alert. Similar perceptual systems, in this case geared to the recognition of visual patterns, have been detected in eye movements during the exploration of landscape images (De Lucio et al., 1996). A sound's alert-raising capacity is related to abrupt variations in the sound level of certain frequency bands. Sound signals produced in a storm or those present in a busy park or residential area induce states of alert which are evaluated differently according to the receiver and the place. Although more uniform sounds are usually associated with natural settings, in many cases the opposite is true. Our study, for instance, included the thunderstorm as a natural sound but with abrupt variations in loudness and the totally man-made sounds of a village but with gentle variations in sound level. A number of authors have referred to information s, content as dening artistic preferences (France ldez, 1985), 1979) and landscape preferences (Berna differentiating the identiable and/or concrete contents from other more abstract contents relating to the structure of the stimulus. In our case, these information contents could be associated to the rst and second dimensions, respectively, of the correspondence analysis. 4.2. Soundimage congruence The relationship between a sound's alert-raising capacity and the setting in which it appears has an important impact on its interpretation. An alarm sound in a setting to which it is alien means something different from the same sound ascribable to a certain visual element of the landscape. Our general interpretation would be that ratings can be signicantly affected when the interaction between the sound and visual elements present is inappropriate. A change in soundimage compatibility conditions is enough to produce quite different aesthetic and affective reactions. Visual information and acoustic information, as such, can reinforce or interfere with each other. The role of soundimage congruence in shaping environmental preferences, as found in this and pre-

vious experiments, may be interpreted with reference to the information content which the sound provides relative to the image. Sounds indicate components of the landscape not detectable by the eye, inducing appreciation or rejection according to the information content provided, the physical structure of the sound itself and the degree of concordance between both stimuli. This sense of coherence or congruence has been invoked in classic studies on aesthetic preferences s, 1979; Arnheim, 1983) to refer to subjects' (France ability to unite disparate elements and congurations of a given scene into a coherent whole. The relating of the information content of images and sounds on two different planes opens up whole new horizons in landscape studies. It would be interesting, for example, to analyse the effect of soundimage congruence on certain variables classically used for the prediction of landscape preferences, such as `mystery' as reported by Kaplan et al. (1989): ``...promise of new but related information.'' This exploratory and anticipatory function may well be fullled largely by sound. As regards this variable, the lower ratings accorded to combinations in which the natural landscape appears with sounds alien to its typology could clash with the traditional view. In classic studies of landscape preferences, this promise of new information in the landscape is a positive and relevant variable as regards preferences. This fullment of a basic need, in this case the need to explore, may be limited in our study by an overload or saturation of contradictory visual and acoustic stimuli (Milgran, 1970; Amphoux, 1991) which may cause a decrease in the scores of environments where sound is not congruent with the visual landscape. 4.3. Consequences for planners and managers Images modify the effects of sounds and also determine environmental quality. In our experiment, the scenes in which sounds are most highly rated are those containing vegetation or abundant water. These preferences are related to the expectations of quality, diversity, complexity, etc. which these environments give rise to. In certain places with a distinct environmental identity, any acoustic disturbance can lead to a rapid deterioration in quality. Natural sounds, mean-

200

J.L. Carles et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 43 (1999) 191200 ldez, F.G., Abello , R.P., Gallardo, D., 1989. Environmental Berna challenge and environmental preferences: Age and sex effects. J. Environ. Manage. 28, 5370. Bjork, E.A., 1986. Laboratory annoyance and skin conductance responses to some natural sounds. J. Sound Vibration 109(2), 339345. Bjork, E.A., 1995. Psychophysiological responses to some natural sounds. Acta Acustica. 3, 8388. ldez, F.G., y De Lucio, J.V., 1992. Audio-visual Carles, J.L., Berna interactions in soundscape preferences. Landscape Res. 17(2), 5256. De Lucio, J.V., Mohamadian, M., Ruiz, J.P., Benayas, J., ldez, F.G., 1996. Visual landscape exploration as revealed Berna by eye movement tracking. Landscape and Urban Planning 34, 135142. Fidel, S., Teffeteller, S., 1981. Scaling the annoyance of intrusive sounds. J. Sound and Vibration. 78, 291. s, R., 1979. Psychologie de l'art et de l'esthe tique. PUF, France Paris. Herrington, S., Daniel, T.C., Brown, T.C., 1993. Is motion more important than it sounds? The medium of presentation in environment research. Environ. Psychology 13, 283291. Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S., Brown, T., 1989. Environmental preference: A Comparison of Four Domains of Predictors. J. Environ. Behaviour 21(5), 509530. Kaplan, R., Herbert, R.J., 1987. Cultural and subcultural comparisons in preferences for natural settings. Landscape and urban planning, 14, pp. 161176. pez Barrio, I., Carles, J.L., 1995. Acoustic dimensions of Lo inhabited areas: Quality criteria. The Soundscape Newsletter 10, 68. pez Barrio, I. y Carles, J.L., 1997. La calidad sonora de Lo n BanValencia. Espacios sonoros representativos. Fundacio caixa. Valencia. Meredith, M.A., Nemitz, J.W., Stein, B.E., 1987. Determinants of multisensory integration in superior colliculus neurons. I. Temporal factors. J. Neurosci. 10, 32153229. Milgran, S., 1970. The experience of living cities. Science 167, 14611468. Parlitz, D., Colonius, H., 1993. Effects of visual stimulation on auditory detection. In: Schick, August (Ed.), Contribution to Psychological Acoustics. Oldenburg. Stein, B.E., Meredith, M.A., 1993. The Merging of the Senses, MIT Press. Schafer, M.R., 1976. The Tuning of the World. McClelland and Stewart. Toronto. Stanners, D., Bourdeau, P. (Eds.), 1995. Europe's Environment. The Dobris Assessment. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen. Southworth, 1969. The sonic environment of the cities Environment and behavior I, 4970. tude de l'influence de la vision Viollon, S., Lavandier, C., 1997. E me Congre s sur l'audition en contexte urbain. In: Actes du 4e Franc ,ais d'Acoustique, vol. 1, pp. 311314. Zwicker, E., Fastl, H., 1990. Psychoacoustics. Facts and Models. Springer, Heidelberg.

while, may improve the quality of built-up environments to a certain extent. However, any incongruence between sound and image in a landscape quite clearly diminishes the value assigned it, indicating the need to conserve singular soundscapes. This question comes to the fore in places whose use and function implies the presence of natural sounds. Such cases call for the application of soundscape conservation measures in protected natural spaces, cultural landscapes and parks and green areas. A further inuence stems from the alert-raising capacity of sounds, which appears to attract different ratings according to the subjects consulted, and displays a similar behaviour to the variables studied in landscape preferences, such as mystery or risk. Our interest in this study has centred on the evaluation of a limited number of natural or natural-urbanised environments. This raises the question as to whether other kinds of soundscapes, either natural (reecting different ecosystems from those set out here) or urban, technological, social, etc. share the same properties. A fundamental step in this respect would be to develop research projects aimed at the analysis and study of soundscape preferences. We regard it as essential that this method be developed and contrasted with others, in order to obtain a more exact idea of its viability. It is also important to enlarge the sample to other population groups to establish control over the preference impact of factors like age, sex, cultural origin, etc. Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and remarks concerning the manuscript. References
Anderson, L.M., Mulligan, B.E., Goodman, L.S., Regan, H.Z., 1983. Effects of sounds on preferences for outdoor settings. Environ. Behaviour 15(5), 539566. n visual. Alianza Editorial, Arnheim, R., 1983. Arte y percepcio Madrid. coutes de la ville. CRESSON. Rapport Amphoux, P., 1991. Aux e n894 Grenoble. ldez, F.G., 1985. Invitacio n a la ecolog a humana. AdaptaBerna n afectiva al entorno. Ed. Tecnos, Madrid. cio