Bringing Music To The Park: The Effect Of Musikiosk On The Quality Of Public Experience

Large parks have been studied for their tranquil and restorative properties, including in the sonic dimension. The auditory experience of users in small urban public spaces, such as pocket parks is less well understood, especially as they can contain sound sources much more reflective of dense, urban activities. Musikiosk, a soundscape intervention, was deployed in a small Montreal park that allowed users to bring their own devices and play their own content over publicly provided speakers. A questionnaire study (N = 197) revealed that users found the park more pleasant, eventful, and vibrant with the presence of Musikiosk, without an associated change in calmness or appropriateness, and better for their mood states than a typical park visit. Musikiosk also reduced the likelihood that park users mentioned hearing traffic noise. Those who were more noise sensitive experienced most of the benefits of both the park visit and Musikiosk, however it did not diminish their mentions of traffic noise. These results have implications for theories and policies concerning the sounds of public spaces. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.