Influence of perceived soundscape and sound environment on subjective well-being of park visitors

Abstract

Urban parks are public leisure areas that stimulate good feelings and alleviate stress. Studies of park soundscapes have shown that natural soundscapes are associated with higher restorations after park visitations. Little is known whether different parks with similar sound sources would result in different perceived subjective well-being and stress reduction of the park visitors. This paper offers deeper insight into the Malaysian parks’ perceived soundscapes and highlights the effects after visitations on subjective well-being and stress reduction. On-site surveys were conducted in four selected parks in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, with 428 park visitors as the study’s sample. From March to May 2022, respondents were recruited with random sampling method. Acoustic measurements and perceptual responses to the park’s soundscape were recorded during the survey sessions. The relationships between objective and subjective measurements of the environment with perceived subjective well-being of the park users were evaluated with Spearman’s correlation tests. Findings revealed that sound levels of the parks from objective measurements differ from the perceived loudness of the park. Perceived soundscape is correlated with subjective well-being and sound environment with the satisfaction level of the park users after visitations. The findings also suggest that sounds from activities in parks increase the park users’ soundscape experience and well-being. These results implicate Malaysian park planning and management by serving a further understanding of the relationship between the soundscape of the parks and how they improve the well-being of park users.