Sound(scape) consequences of urban decisions: Guidelines for planners

While sound plays a critical role in shaping the urban experience, it is rarely considered proactively in city making. While professionals of the built environment are aware of the importance of sound, they feel ill-equipped to take sound into account in their practice. The present work aims to develop guidelines for professionals of the built environment to initiate a line of reasoning about the sound(scape) consequences of their urban planning decisions. Starting with a review of a current street design guide, we propose short guidelines for professionals of the built environment to consider how urban decisions impact the soundscape. These guidelines will be discussed through interviews with professionals of the built environment to explore how to better tailor them to their needs. We conclude with suggestions on communicating soundscape guidelines.