Soundscape, engagement and planning practices within airport expansion projects in the UK

Central to soundscape management in the built environment is how people respond to the sound environment of a place which either currently exists, is being imagined, or once it is developed. Therefore, soundscape practice advocates that stakeholders become co-specifiers/designers of projects from the project design and inception stage. A significant challenge to assessing/predicting stakeholders' response to sound is the impact of non-acoustic factors (NAFs) which are acknowledged to account for a wide variation of human responses to sound in context. In particular, the NAF of 'perceived control' over the sound source/maker has been identified as extremely important. Stakeholders' perceived control over existing/anticipated sound from developments directly impacts the effectiveness of engagement in statutory planning processes. Further, perceived control has been shown to affect human wellbeing and is therefore a critical element to be accounted for in sustainable planning and development practices. This study investigates stakeholders' perceived control and the impact on effective engagement in the context of planning processes for airport expansion projects in the UK. This research builds upon existing soundscape and noise and health findings to develop a conceptual framework for effective stakeholder engagement for soundscape design and planning in the built environment.