VISON - Role of nature on VIsual and SOund interactions in the external and internal urban environment (2017)

Summary:

Enhancing well-being in cities is a major aspect of urban management and planning. The restoration of nature in cities is one of the strategies widely used to achieve this. The VISON project proposes to study the impact of nature in urban public spaces on visual and sound perceptions. Two urban contexts will be studies as part of this research project:

- Underground public spaces (metro platforms);

- External public spaces (green spaces alongside roads and railways).

They have in common the fact that they produce high noise levels which can harm the well-bing of city dwellers in their experience of the city. The presence of nature and its impact on perceptions will be address through the following variables: the presence of vegetation (in underground spaces), types of management (in green spaces), background noise (traffic noise, natural noise from green spaces, etc. birdsong). The original nature of our project lies its twofold approach:

- A behavioural approach: using open and closed questions, it asks how the visual and audible urban environment affects the perception of this environment (evaluated in terms of approval level).

- A physiological approach: using physiological data to determine how the visual and audible urban environment affects the perception of this environment (evaluated in terms of modifications to physiological responses).