AN INTENSIVE SURVEY ON COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO SONIC ENVIRONMENT IN A RESIDENTIAL-INDUSTRIAL MIXED USE AREA

An intensive survey on community response to the sonic environment was conducted in a residential-industrial mixed use area. The size of the study area is comparatively small, about 6 ha. The survey consists of (1) observation of the sonic environment, where the density of observ ation points is about 7 points/ha, and (2) the investigation of the co mmunity response to the sonic environment applying a free response que stionnaire method. The results of the survey are summarized as follows . The sonic environment is not homogeneous even in such a small area a s investigated here. There are some differences in response to the son ic environment in which respondents live in different social contexts. Responses to questions on the sonic environment depend upon the domin ant sounds. Thus, sonic environments observed by researchers and descr ibed by respondents cannot be regarded as homogeneous. The fact sugges ts that the intensive survey is necessary for examining the community response to the sonic environment. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.