Guidelines for soundscape mapping and urban soundscape design derived from the imaginaries of digital native users

Abstract

We present the guidelines of an experiment run in France and Korea along the lines of a pilot experiment in China and based on collages to illustrate one’s experience when walking through urban sceneries. Participants in groups of two were free to clip any image they wanted from a selection of magazines, the same for all groups within each country, and free to add any comment or drawing they wanted to on their collages. Then they had to present their collage to the other participants and the presentations were recorded, and transcribed. The structural semantic model that underlies the descriptions of the collages and narratives is presented, and guidelines for soundscape mapping and urban soundscape design derived from it. They lead to some suggestions for radically innovative soundscapes, based on the imaginaries that underlie the usage and attitudes of the participants.