Validation of an indicator for the assessment of the environmental sound in urban places

One of the challenges concerning the consideration of soundscape as a variable that determines the environmental experience in urban places is to define acoustical indicators that correlate with the human perception of the acoustic environment. The main aim is to provide a composite acoustical indicator that could offer a first insight into the soundscape, as a way to simplify the methodologies that usually involve the development of psychosocial approach too. The purpose of this communication is to present the results of the validation of a composite acoustic indicator for the evaluation of the sonic atmosphere in two urban sites in the city of Bilbao. This indicator integrates the intensity of sound, the presence of events and the assessment of the positive or negative perception of the types of sound sources existing in the area. The validation process was carried out through the correlation of the results of the acoustic measurements and the measurements of the acoustical perception of the users of urban places, both developed simultaneously.