Soundscape Analysis of Four Public Parks in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

With about 1.4 million inhabitants, the city of Belém is located in northern Brazil, in the region known as the Brazilian Amazon. This tropical city has beautiful urban public parks built in the early 20th century, which receive a large number of visitors looking for recreation and leisure. These parks, initially surrounded by single-story residences, are now located in the midst of large commercial and service centers and skyscrapers, where a portion of the Brazilian population began to reside, as an impact of urbanization in the country. The soundscapes of four public parks with different typologies, two of them with 24-hour free access and the other two with controlled visitation, are analyzed here. The sound measurements taken indicate a strong influence of road traffic, construction works and recreational activities on their soundscapes, while users identify sounds of birds, wind in the trees, nature and tranquility. These apparently opposite but actually complementary results, involving physical and psychological variables, are presented and discussed in this article. These results represent a Brazilian contribution to the studies of urban soundscapes and “quiet areas”, which have been developing less frequently in countries such as Brazil. It is also an important tool to support urban planning in Brazilian cities, especially interventions in their public parks to enhance the sound components of their landscapes.