First specifications of an information system for urban soundscape

Sounds are very important in our daily life with a twofold attitude for any citizen. On the one hand, music sounds are considered to enhance the quality of life, but on the other hand, traffic noise deteriorates the quality of life. Due to those contradictory characteristics, the new concept of soundscape tries to combine both positive and negative aspects of the auditory environment. Presently, and more and more in the future, any urban planning activities must try to diminish noise levels everywhere in the cities and also outside, for instance at the vicinity of airports. Local authorities daily receive complaints regarding noise, but they generally come from very quiet precincts, and practically never from very noisy zones such as along busy highways. So, it is very important to provide the urban decision-makers with an objective tool to compare not only noise levels but also soundscape, and to simulate the auditory impacts of any new urban developments. The goal of this paper is to give the first elements of the design of an information system dedicated to auditory information for cities. The paper describes the importance of the urban soundscape, the structure of the information system and some elements for the visualization of sounds