Soundmarks and urban placemaking: a spatial analysis of soundscapes in public space design

Sri Lanka's rapid urbanization has significantly transformed public spaces, particularly in Colombo, in an effort to enhance city living and aesthetics. However, these transformations often prioritize visual quality, resulting in monotonous landscape developments that overlook the auditory dimension of urban environments. The research explores how soundscapes can mitigate monotony in urban public spaces, identifies existing soundmarks, analyses their spatial arrangement, and develops guidelines for integrating soundmarks into landscape design. Key objectives include understanding the impact of soundscapes on urban public space quality, examining the relationship between soundmarks and spatial organization, and assessing the social interactions influenced by auditory environments. The study employs qualitative methods such as soundwalking and user interviews, enabling a multimodal analysis of the urban environment through both visual and auditory cues. The findings will contribute to a more holistic approach to public space design, to create dynamic, inclusive, and contextually rich urban environments.