Abstract Summary
Urban sensescapes of areas near airports and flight routes are characterized by the visual and auditory backdrop of airplane flyovers. Sensescapes relate to the interplay between human experience, environmental conditions, and spatiality. Urban form and landscape design influence, and interacts with, environmental indicators, such as sound and wind flow, but also temperature and climate. Despite being studied extensively for most environmental sound sources, the influence of urban form and landscape design had not been broadly studied for aircraft noise. Based on the premise that building and street design influence the propagation of aircraft noise, the Urban Comfort Lab started in 2021. Through the lens of outdoor comfort, the lab also initiated data-driven urban climate and air quality project, to identify crossovers with sound abatement strategies. During the past two years more than a dozen projects were undertaken on aircraft noise, urban climate, and air quality. Nearly all studies focussed on physical aspects, through measurements and data analysis. Most noise studies prioritise technical-physical aspects, overlooking human perception in assessing acoustical comfort. This motivates us to redefine outdoor acoustical comfort through multidisciplinary knowledge and techniques. In this article, we reflect on the project’s process and output, to distil lessons for current and future practice. Based on the studies undertaken over the past three years, we identified and prioritized questions and gaps for future research.
