On the development of soundscape indices (SSID)

The growing field of soundscape studies considers sound environments as perceived, in context, with an interdisciplinary approach. In this paper, based on an ongoing European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant project, the current developments on establishing “soundscape indices” (SSID) are outlined, including: the SSID framework; the SSID protocol for field soundscape survey, and the SSID protocol for laboratory soundscape listening tests; establishment of the open SSID soundscape database; analysis of relationships among psychological, (psycho)acoustical, neural and physiological, and contextual factors, as well as their effects on soundscape descriptors; soundscape evaluation in different languages and cultures; an integrated soundscape prediction model; soundscapy, a soundscape analysis tool for soundscape designers; and work towards a single soundscape index. It is expected that SSID will adequately reflect levels of human comfort to integrate (and eventually replace) decibel-based metrics commonly used in existing (international) regulations, shifting the focus from noise control to a more holistic approach, and contributing to smart cities/buildings and digital engineering.