title: Relationship between road traffic noisescape and urban form in Hong Kong.
abstract: This paper reports on a study which explored the possible relationship between road traffic noisescape and urban form in Hong Kong. A total of 212 residential complexes from 11 contrasting urban forms were sampled, and their noise levels assessed both at dwelling and neighbourhood scales by noise mapping. Its findings indicate that residential complexes with different urban forms have significantly different noisescape attributes. There is a strong correlation between the noise characteristics and morphological indicators at the dwelling scale. A less obstreperous noisescape is associated with urban forms with lower road and building densities, and with building arrangements which provide self-noise screening. These findings suggest that urban form is an influential determinant of the noisescape in the urban environment, and they point to the need to rethink the conventional approach to managing the urban acoustic environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China, kinchelam@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Kin-Che
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Weichun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Pak Kin
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Wing Chi
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: King Lam
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Yi-tak Teresa
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Chun Yin
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006723:Hong Kong; D006798:Housing; D009624:Noise, Transportation