Effect of visual characteristics of residential areas on soundscape in high density cities in China

Taking residential areas with different floor area ratios as an example, this study investigated the effect of visual changes in building floor area ratios and surface colour on sound attention, satisfaction, and the correlation between attention and satisfaction. Results were as follows: First, a change in the visual building floor area ratio affected birdsong attention (p = 0.043), wind satisfaction of sound (p = 0.028), and the correlation between attention and satisfaction for the sounds of birdsong and traffic. With an increase in the floor area ratio, the correlation coefficients between attention and satisfaction increased for the sound of birdsong but decreased for the sound of traffic. Second, a change in building surface colour affected the satisfaction of wind sound (p = 0.047) and footstep sound (p = 0.032) under different building densities, and the change in colour also affected the correlation between attention and satisfaction. The correlation between attention and satisfaction for the sounds of birdsong and traffic became irrelevant after a change in building colour, and a change in building colour caused a shift in people's attention from hearing to vision. These results indicate that the urban sound landscape can be improved by changing the colour of residential buildings.