Analysis of socio-cultural differences and psychoacoustic parameters in sound perception in a public park and its surroundings

The city of Aachen is a university city, surrounded by some green areas, including a recreational area close to the center called: the Westpark. While it is close to the university campus, some of the students' population lives near to the park and they use it during leisure time. According to the city of Aachen, 36% of the inhabitants living in this area are aged between 20 and 29 years and 16% are non-German. In this study, soundwalks are carried out with users of the park and interviews on sound perception are conducted with local residents. During the soundwalks and interviews, synchronized sound measurements are also performed. Psychoacoustics parameters are calculated based on binaural and omnidirectional recordings, providing the objective data of this study. The subjective data collected from both, the park user and resident interviews, are analyzed using a two-step cluster analysis model. Results of the subjective and objective data are compared to indicate how sound is perceived by the users of a public park and residents who live in its neighborhood.