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| 2. |
- Hellström, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Acoustic design artifacts and methods for urban soundscapes : A case study on the qualitative dimensions of sounds
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Architectural and Planning Research. - 0738-0895. ; 31:1, s. 57-71
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The amount of noise in urban settings is steadily on the rise, creating a potential health hazard and causing a general nuisance. In major European cities, noise levels are so high that the majority of urban parks can no longer truly serve as recreational environments, a problem the World Health Organization and the European Union are attempting to address. This study explores various strategies that promote the sustainable development of urban soundscapes at locations meant for rest, recreation, and social interaction. Further, we look at how people are affected by the combined effects of traffic and nature sounds in parks and other outdoor settings. To this end, we adopted a new track the use of interdisciplinary methodology that brings together architectural analysis, artistic experiments, and psychoacoustic methodology to evaluate the aesthetic, emotional, perceptual, and spatial effects of noise on subjects spending time in public open-air spaces. We conducted a large-scale case study at a city park to explore whether subjects were affected by purposely distributed sounds and, if so, how The working hypothesis was that it is possible to cancel out or mute traffic noise by affecting individuals' aural perceptions using a process known as informational masking. Our long-term objective is to create a scientific foundation for action plans, both preemptive and troubleshooting, targeting noise reduction in parks' and similar public spaces that are meant to provide a relaxing environment.
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| 3. |
- Marcheschi, Elizabeth, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Physical-environment qualities of supported-housing facilities for people with severe mental illness
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Architectural and Planning Research. - : Locke Science Publishing Company. - 0738-0895. ; 31:2, s. 128-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The physical environment of supported-housing facilities (SHF) for people with severe mental illness has mainly been investigated in terms of neighborhood quality and community integration, largely neglecting the design of housing attributes. This study investigated whether SHFs with high and low levels of physical-environment quality differed in their support of users' (residents and staff) needs, which were operationalized in terms of perceived visual pleasantness, homelikeness, and positive psychosocial processes. The perception of supportive characteristics in 20 SHFs was assessed by SHF residents (n = 72), SHF staff (n = 117), a user-group panel (n = 3), and environmental psychologists (n = 5). The results showed that SHFs with "high" environmental quality - characterized by features such as clear demarcation between the spaces, suitable facilities, and proximity to green environments - did a better job of supporting users' needs. Users and experts perceived physical-environment qualities in largely the same way The implications of these findings are important for those with severe mental illness, as the findings emphasize the relevance of physical-environment quality in SHFs for users' well-being.
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- Vestbro, Dick Urban
(författare)
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Citizen participation or representative democracy? : The Case Of Stockholm, Sweden
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Architectural and Planning Research. - 0738-0895. ; 29:1, s. 5-17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Swedish planning model, as it developed during the period of 1945-1985, was a typical modernist top-down model that provided no scope for direct citizen participation. Regardless, in the 1970s, demands for popular participation in planning became prominent. A new planning and building act was passed to provide for consultancy with the general public. The experience from Stockholm, where the author served as a city councillor for 11 years, shows that the law has been implemented formally but also that there are a number of obstacles to participation in planning. One important obstacle is that developers have usually made up their minds when plan proposals are presented for consultancy, so the proposals are not open to changes. Another obstacle is that plan proposals are difficult for citizens to understand. This article argues that public participation can be strengthened by working out more than one alternative proposal for consultations, introducing child-impact assessments of plan proposals, and using the reverse planning process, in which citizens are invited to identify desirable changes to their own neighborhoods. Citizen participation is seen as a supplement to the representative democratic system, not a replacement.
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