The sound of Indonesian cities

Abstract

An initial study to map the unique sound variations in ten cities in Indonesia was carried out. The data was provided by local urban experts. Each expert provides resumes of the three most favourite public places and the typical sound environment in each place. Using the classification of public places by Carr (1992) and a modest statistical analysis, the study uncovered that parks are the most famous place to visit (40%). The 2 nd and 3rd place is square/plaza (20%) and memorial sites (13%). As an archipelago, waterfronts (10%) are also a favourite public place. One hundred and thirty-four sound sources were identified from thirty favourite places in the observed cities. Given the rich culture and vibrant tradition, the sound in each city shall be unique. Unfortunately, in parks and squares, human activities and traffic are the most dominant sources of sound. Meanwhile, natural sounds like water and birds are the least heard. Even along the waterfront, the sound of water is masked by the dominance of human noise, traffic noise, and boat noise. It is ironic because people visit these places for recreational and leisure purposes.