Urban Traffic and Psychophysiological Stress: Impacts of Vehicle Speed, Pavement Condition, and Urban Greenery

The acoustic environment in urban spaces is often dominated by human-made noise sources, with road traffic noise as the most pervasive. Meanwhile, urban planning often overlooks how soundscape can impact citizens' well-being. This study combined virtual reality, biometric sensing, and questionnaires to evaluate how urban design measures targeting road traffic noise affect, beyond acoustic characteristics, psychological and physiological stress indicators. Participants (N = 37) were immersed in a virtual urban environment with passing vehicles at different speeds (20,30, 50 km/h) over different road surface types and maintenance levels (new vs. deteriorated asphalt concrete and cobblestones) and varying green infrastructure (Green View Index: 0 %, 14 %, 26 %). Noise stimuli were captured through CPX measurements and subsequently auralized, resulting in signals with LAeq spanning a 20 dBA range. Phasic skin conductance (SC), heart rate (HR), and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) were recorded, while noise annoyance and cognitive performance were measured through self-report. Noise annoyance consistently increased with poorer pavement conditions and higher speeds. Speed was linked to high phasic SC and HR, while road surface type increased phasic SC and reduced HF-HRV from new to deteriorated asphalt and cobblestones, indexing heightened physiological stress impacting the autonomic nervous system regulation...