How Sound and Scene Match Up Affects Our Comfort

Have you ever noticed how the sounds around you can change how you feel? Like how birds chirping makes a park feel peaceful, but traffic noise can make it feel busy and maybe even uncomfortable? Scientists call this 'soundscape appropriateness', or SA for short. It's like how well the sounds around you fit with what you're seeing and doing. A team of researchers in Shenyang, China, studied this in Beiling Park. They wanted to see how different sounds affect how comfortable people feel there. They used a special method that looked at how sounds and the scene around them work together. They found that natural sounds, like birds, make people feel more comfortable. But sounds from traffic and shops can make people feel less comfortable. Interestingly, they also found that how comfortable people feel depends on where they are in the park. So, if you're near a busy road, you might not feel as comfortable as if you're in a quieter spot. This is important for people who plan cities and parks. They can use this information to make urban open spaces healthier and more comfortable. Even if they can't change the sounds, they can make the environment fit better with the sounds to improve how people feel.