Public perceptions of anthropogenic and natural sounds: Disparities in soundscapes and corresponding sense of place

Abstract Noise pollution is an environmental stressor negatively affecting humans and biodiversity. Noise pollution is often measured and regulated according to loudness, but in this study, we assessed noise pollution based on human perceptions of soundscapes. We used the participatory science project Sound Around Town to collect data reflecting personal interpretations of soundscapes. Participants logged the perceived loudness and pleasantness of sound sources during 10‐min listening sessions outdoors at their homes. Participants generally rated mechanical anthropogenic sounds as the least pleasant and natural sounds as the most pleasant. Pleasantness decreased with perceived loudness for mechanical and non‐mechanical anthropogenic sources of sound and for biotic natural sounds, but increased with loudness for abiotic natural sources of sound. Controlling for demographics, sense of place was higher for people detecting nature‐based soundscapes (louder and more pleasant natural sounds like birds and wind) and suburb‐like soundscapes (louder, more pleasant non‐mechanical anthropogenic sounds like music and quieter cars and planes). Sense of place was lower for people detecting city‐like soundscapes (less pleasant mechanical anthropogenic sounds like loud cars and planes). Compared to white participants, non‐white participants reported a lower sense of place. Even though non‐white participants reported higher exposure to suburb‐like soundscapes, they reported lower exposure to nature‐based soundscapes, possibly affecting their sense of place. Synthesis and applications : Our findings indicate that nature‐based soundscapes are linked to a sense of place, which has implications for both biodiversity conservation and social justice. Efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity could be strengthened by promoting human‐nature connections through natural soundscapes that also enhance community well‐being. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.