Combined Sound and Light Walks. A novel, mixed method to assess the sonic and light urban environment at night

Abstract

In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, cities in Europe have implemented policies for addressing economic, social and environmental sustainability.Noise and light pollution can be regarded as challenges to sustainability, due to the detrimental effects they can have on human health, wellbeing and the environment. Increasing levels of noise and light pollution in cities can lead to the loss of quietness and darkness, two qualities of the urban environment, that European policies attempt to protect. Most approaches to noise and light pollution reduction apply quantitative indicators and methods. A literature scrutiny showed a tendency to overlook human perception as a criterion for assessing sound and light phenomena and their interplay. Against this backdrop, this contribution presents a novel mixed method for assessing sound and artificial light of the urban environment at night -- the combined sound- and lightwalks – that was envisioned in the attempt to fill this gap of knowledge. It outlines a case study where a combined sound- and lightwalk was conducted in 2019 in the Friederichshain neighbourhood in East Berlin. It illustrates materials and methods applied, explaining how acoustic and light components of the environment were assessed during the walk, by collecting perceptual responses and quantitative measurements. It presents the results and the study limitations. In conclusion it discusses how integrating qualitative perspectives and using citizen-generated data, planners and policy makers could make progress towards the creation of more inclusive and sustainable approaches for the protection of urban quiet and dark areas at night.