We apologise for being so quiet with the updates online lately. We may have been digitally quiet, but we have been talking lots and tapping away on our keyboards behind the scenes to keep the Project DeStress work flowing. Dr Sarah Payne and Dr Neil Bruce have made a number of appearances at events in 2019. We’ve talked to European Council authority planners (EuroCities Noise Working Group), Scottish Council Environmental Health Officers and organisations (Environmental Protection Scotland, Scottish Noise Advisory Group), European planners and academics (Urban Sound Symposium in Gent), and UK acousticians (Institute of Acoustics Conference). We also have more talks lined up at the end of June in London, for which practitioners, academics, students, and interested parties can still register (UKAN Soundscape workshop).
To keep things fresh, Debbie McCracken has also joined the team and will be helping over the next 3 months with the validation process of the environment simulator. Debbie’s education in psychology and planning makes her a great asset to the team and we welcome her help in these final stages of the project. You can read more about Debbie’s background in our Project Team page.
As for the Environment Simulator itself, Neil has been doing a grand job creating the soundfiles and visuals for the 112 different scenarios we have planned.
On Saturday April 13th at Edinburgh Science Festival we had a test simulator of our tool with over 100 engaged children eager to point out what works and what needs improving! We showcased a fifth of the total number of different options that users will be able to try out. We are really grateful for all the feedback we got from the families and children at the festival creating their own urban square and watching and listening to the results before letting us know how it made them feel and what the experience was like. Thankfully it got 5 out of 5 star rating from most of the kids.
For now though, if you’re interested in seeing more of the simulator and what it may look like, you can check out a little video on our environment simulator holding page, which presents different scenarios that people will be able to choose. Hopefully you’ll be amazed by what we have produced and what you’ll get a chance to play with! Through the simulator, you’ll also be contributing to our research and enhancing our understanding of the health and wellbeing implications of planning decisions on urban soundscapes.