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Conference_programme: 20.2 - Perception based models of acoustic environment



Lecture: Combined Sound- & Lightwalks. A perception based method to analyze and evaluate the sonic and light environment of our cities at night.

Author(s): Radicchi Antonella, Henckel Dietrich

Summary:
Paraphrasing the definition of a soundwalk provided by Westerkamp in 1974, a combined sound- & lightwalk could be meant as any excursion whose main purpose is listening to the environment and looking at its artificially lit components. More in general, a combined sound- & lightwalk could be placed in the practice of “sensewalking”, which was introduced in the fifth and sixth decade of the XX century, as a method used by a range of disciplines to “investigate and analyze how we understand, experience and utilize spaces” by focusing on sensory information gained through one or more senses. Whereas soundwalks have a rather long history with a consistent body of literature and examples of practices, lightwalks are a much younger phenomenon. Therefore, theory and practice of soundwalking was taken as a reference for defining this new method of combined light- and soundwalking. Against this background, this paper illustrates the method’s theoretical background and it provides indications on how combined sound- & lighwalks can be performed, by describing a case study where the method was applied for the first time. To conclude, relevance of the method and its potential impact on urban planning processes are discussed.

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Corresponding author

Name: Dr Antonella Radicchi

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Country: Germany