Evaluation of soundscape quality in urban open green areas, Malatya example

As a result of technological developments, the overcrowding and unplanned growth of cities have made open-green areas, where people can meet their social, cultural and physiological needs, an important issue. However, uncontrolled sounds in these specially designed areas can seriously disturb the users of these areas. The first aim of this study is to explain the features of the soundscape design, which is a more perceptually inclusive and human-centered concept than the concept of quiet/calm areas suggested against environmental noise in urban open-green areas, and to create awareness about this concept. Another aim of the research is to carry out a study to determine the auditory preferences of the area user profile in Turkey, which has not yet been determined. In the landscape design phase, it is aimed to look at the issue of 'auditory perception evaluation', which will determine the framework of the sound phenomenon to be included in the process, from a human perspective. For this purpose, objective and subjective data were collected for the auditory landscape evaluation in 4 different urban open-green areas in the city of Malatya, and suggestions were made for the explanation of user preferences and the improvement of the auditory landscape in urban open-green areas. Sound and noise maps were created by analyzing the results, and as a result of the applied surveys and observations, the "symbol sound", "background sounds" and "foreground sounds" that constitute the sound identity of the studied spaces were defined and suggestions regarding the sound landscape were presented.