Noise

::Image via PagesPerso-Orange

A few years ago, I remember reading a French survey that found that the nuisance people found the most annoying was noise. An interesting article in Discover by Jennifer Barone describes the sonic experience of walking through New York. She describes an experience that could have happened in any other city around the world, demonstrating how universal the urban sounds we are exposed to are.

The article also highlights the drastic effects that noise can have on our well being. Citing the work of environmental psychologist Arline Bronzaft, she shows how noise can be linked to violence and how it can impede children’s learning:

"Following up on a complaint that a school was near a loud train track, Bronzaft compared the performance of students in the half of the building facing the tracks with that of the children in the quieter part of the school. She found that sixth-graders in the noisy classrooms were about one grade behind their peers in the quieter section on reading scores. The year after the Metropolitan Transit Authority installed rubber pads under the rails to lessen the noise, reading scores at the school evened out. Bronzaft says that more than 30 studies have subsequently documented the impact of noise on learning."

She also points out how less intrusive noises, natural sounds or music are therapeutic and effective in relieving anxiety, improving mood, and lessening pain. This highlights the importance of noise when designing for a place with a quality sensory experience. It also stresses the necessity to identify and take into account noise pollution when designing civic spaces that are to be successful.