







































99 

zGeoPlanning 
Journal of Geomatics and Planning                                                                                                                Vol. 11, No. 1, 2024     

 

Original Research 

Beyond Park Boundaries: Exploring The Effect 

of Surrounding Land Use on Sound Levels of 

Parks 

Josephine Siaw Ling Lee1, Nafisa Hosni1*; Noradila Rusli2, Nabila Abdul 

Ghani1 

1. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, 

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia 

2. Centre for Innovative Planning & Development (CiPD), Faculty of Built Environment and 

Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia 

DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

Abstract 

Urban parks in big cities can help reduce noise while providing spaces for recreation and rest, but their size, location and 

surroundings can limit their environmental benefits. This article will discuss how surrounding land use affects noise levels 

in a particular park, as well as how park landscaping can limit noise exposure. Four study areas were selected from Kuala 

Lumpur and Putrajaya to highlight a range of land uses, locations and park sizes. The sound levels were measured twice for 

each site-morning and evening-using measurement points along the park path and the SL-5868P sound level meter. The 

results showed that the study area exceeded the recommended noise limit of 55dBA as stipulated by Malaysian Noise Limit 

and World Health Organization guidelines. In addition, there was a pattern of influence on the measured noise levels based 

on land use and landscape around the park. Parks located in dense land use have higher noise levels, but have lower variation 

in noise levels within the park due to higher surrounding noise levels, compared to parks with more than 87% tree cover. 

The KLCC park, with 76% tree cover, has an overall higher noise level of more than 60dBA, indicating that the tree cover 

serves as a noise barrier for the park. Therefore, park planning should be tailored to its location and environment, while 

landscaping can be used to reduce noise levels and keep them within noise limits. In the future, the soundscape idea may be 

taken into account to enhance Malaysia's park environment. 

Copyright © 2024 GJGP-Undip 

This open access article is distributed under a  

Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-NC-SA) 4.0 International license 

1. Introduction  

In the context of rapid urbanization and high-density developments, the increased noise levels contributed 

to an increasing sense of environmental unpleasantness. Developing nations including China, India and Vietnam 

experience increasing traffic noise pollution (Ma et al., 2006). This includes Malaysia where there is a constant 

increase in road transportation network to support the country’s development process resulting in higher noise 

levels which degrades the quality of the environment. High density developments introduce elevated levels of 

human activities, higher vehicular traffic and industrial operations which increase noise pollution (Tong & Kang, 

2020; Yuan et al., 2019). Meanwhile, the increase in urban population density amplifies the impact of noise 

pollution which negatively impacts the wellbeing of the residents. These concerns contributed to the recognition 

of urban noise pollution as a threat to environmental health. 

To protect the urban community from this urban noise pollutions, the maximum permissible noise level 

at suburban and residential areas should not exceed 55 decibels (dBA) based on the environmental limit set by 

the Malaysian Department of Environment (Department of Environment, 2019). Similarly, the World Health 

e-ISSN: 2355-6544 
 
Received: 20 December 2023;  
Accepted: 29 February 2024;  
Published: 08 March 2024. 
 
Keywords:  
Sound Level, Park, GIS,  
Land Use, NDVI 

 
*Corresponding author(s)  
email: nafisa@utm.my 

 
 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120
mailto:nafisa@utm.my


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

100 

Organization (WHO) guidelines on noise level limit are fixed at 55dBA during the day and 45dBA at night. 

Research into these issues is necessary to secure the health and wellbeing of urban residents, as well as to ensure 

that planning decisions are based on evidence that considers the potential health and environmental 

consequences of development. Unwanted or disturbing sounds (noise) may not only be a harmful pollutant to 

human health as defined by WHO and European Centre for Environment and Health (European Environmental 

Agency, 2020) but they may also become a global and growing matter of concern that threatens the preservation 

of natural areas (Lynch et al., 2011). Consequently, public spaces are increasingly viewed as a potential setting 

for urban regeneration strategies.  

The proximity of these developments to urban green areas results in heightened ambient noise levels 

within these green spaces which underscores the significance of mitigating noise infiltrations to parks to ensure 

the role of parks in enhancing the quality of life in the urban environment. Margaritis and Kang (2017) reviewed 

role of green areas to reduce noise levels in urban environment with geospatial analysis. Another study by 

Tashakor et al. (2023) developed a combined GIS-artificial neural network model to predict the spatio-temporal 

contribution of parks to mitigate noise pollutions in Iran, demonstrating a spatial relationship between land use, 

landscape, and noise level of parks. 

Public spaces are a vital asset of a city. Urban parks are considered as one of the public spaces. The visual 

experience of a visitor is always considered to be the determining factor in why people visit the park . It is 

recognized that a good public space, especially urban parks with natural elements would benefit people’s 

psychological and physical health and contributes to the increase of quality of life.  

Understanding how urban parks attract more visitors has increased the significance of urban park 

soundscape knowledge in terms of providing comfortable acoustic experience in the park. Tse and Kwan (2013) 

highlighted the complex relationship among sound, environment, and individuals in investigating the 

soundscape quality of parks. A good acoustic environment is no longer simply the reduction of noise levels (Aletta 

et al., 2016; Hong et al., 2017) but the perception of the people of the acoustic environment as per the soundscape 

concept in ISO12913-1(International Standardization Organization, 2014). Soundscape perception of a park can 

be measured through a subjective aspect of non-acoustic factor by looking at people’s perception of the landscape 

elements while the objective aspects relate to landscape characteristics, such as accessibility (Votsi et al., 2012), 

vegetation coverage (Dzhambov et al., 2018) landscape spatial pattern (Liu et al., 2014) and biodiversity 

(Gunnarsson et al., 2017).  

Effect of Surrounding Land Use on Sound Levels 

The surrounding land use of a park can affect its sound level. Land use categories are commonly used in 

national environmental noise polices to determine exposure limits implying the relationship between different 

land uses and sound level (Lechner et al., 2022; Department of Environment, 2019). According to Ajayi & 

Adeleke (2022), parks’ surrounding with mixed-use land use including living and other activities records higher 

noise levels as compared to parks surrounded by purely residential areas. Margaritis et al. (2020) in their 

investigation of land use with sounds in urban environments, discovered a correlation between the urban form 

and distribution of activities and sound sources in the urban environment.  

Wang and Kang (2011) found significant differences in the distribution of noise level between high- and 

low-density cities. Dense urban areas with numerous heavy structures tend to have higher noise levels (Sakieh 

et al., 2017). Findings of their study suggested there is a distance-dependent relationship between green areas 

and noise levels. Thus, landscape ecology plays an effective role in planning a greener and calmer city by 

exploring how noise propagation and built-up areas interrelate. 

At a local scale, the surrounding land use of the park can affect the physical activity at the park and mediate 

the observed sound level within the park. A study investigated whether parks adjacent to neighborhoods with 

high land use diversity had higher levels of physical activity and interactions with the number of facilities in the 

park and found that parks with low surrounding land use diversity records higher physical activities in the park 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

101 

(Huang et al., 2020; Kaczynski et al., 2010). However, parks located in commercial areas with busy streets may 

deter the public use of the park (Fry et al., 2021; Kaczynski et al., 2010). 

Landscape as Noise Level Barriers  

Noises in parks may be influenced also by the design of the park itself, such as placement of sound barriers 

and natural sound sources such as water features and vegetation (Di et al., 2021; Jaszczak et al., 2021; Sun et al., 

2022).  In terms of aural-visual interactions, numerous studies have suggested a close relationship between 

soundscape and landscape perception (Pheasant et al., 2010; Vijay et al., 2018). Votsi et al. (2012) mentioned a 

link between tranquility, environment quality and human health correlating with landscape structure. In 

addition, research has demonstrated that landscape features such as the normalized difference vegetation index 

(NDVI) and landscape shape index (LSI) can significantly influence the perception of certain sounds (Liu et al., 

2013). NDVI is commonly used to estimate vegetation density and cover, the reflectance of vegetation and thus 

the NDVI values are influenced by a number of factors including canopy type, type of land use and seasonality 

(Liniger et al., 2016). 

Densely vegetated areas are typically ecologically favorable habitats for organisms such as birds and 

insects and as a result they are often rich with biological sounds. When planned alongside a road, the dense 

vegetation of a park’s landscape could also act as barriers, thereby affecting sound propagation and perception. 

According to a study by Liu et al. (2013), dense vegetation could reduce the perception of human sound, 

mechanical sound and geophysical sound. A study used spatio-statistical approach to model associations between 

noise pollution metrics of land categories including green covers and found that green covers were negatively 

associated with noise pollution levels (Sakieh et al., 2017). Similarly, natural features such as trees and shrubs, 

as well as man-made barriers can effectively hinder the propagation of noise (Uebel et al., 2022).  

To date, few studies have examined how sound levels within an urban park vary according to its 

surrounding land uses and landscape. Studies on the influence of land use on sound levels have mainly focused 

on parks surrounded by residential land uses (Sun et al., 2022; Yuan et al., 2019). However, this study aims to 

focus on the impact of different types of land use such as commercial, institutional, and other public facilities on 

parks by prioritizing urban parks instead of neighborhood parks. This is because the location of urban parks in 

cities are crucial as a place of relaxation and the impact of sound levels on the restoration of the park users are 

more prominent in urban parks (Buxton et al., 2021; Fang et al., 2021). The aim of the study is to compare noise 

levels in the different parks and the characteristics of the landscapes. Therefore, this paper aims to extend the 

knowledge of the impact of the park’s surroundings and the park’s landscape on the sound level of the park. With 

this, the paper addresses the two (2) of question, (1) how the surrounding of the park influences the sound levels 

within the park and (2) does the landscape index of the park influence the sound levels in the park. This paper 

will examine the influence of a park’s surroundings on the perception and experience of the park users.  

This research will contribute to our comprehension of the environmental function of urban parks in dense 

cities by characterizing the urban park environment. The findings will also be important in identifying the 

implications for urban park planning and design, particularly with regard to how urban livability can be 

improved. 

2. Data and Methods 

2.1. Area Size and Locational Characteristics of the Parks 

This study focused on the sound levels of the parks in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (Figure 1), the nation's 

capital, and Malaysia's national federal administrative capital, to reflect an urban setting. A park’s location by 

major roads may expose visitors to traffic pollution, and the size of the parks may influence the space for noise 

to attenuate (Lam et al., 2005). Three (3) types of parks were included in this study. The park type is determined 

by the GPP for the provision of public space in Malaysia (Department of Town and Country Planning, 2010) 

where the size of the parks corresponds to the number of inhabitants and functional recreational elements 

accorded to the site. City parks and district parks are recreational areas aimed to cater to the urban population 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

102 

while metropolitan park offers opportunities for informal education facilities. The parks were selected based on 

their geographical attributes in terms of their surrounding land uses, location and size of the park which may 

have a profound implication on the park environmental quality. Table 1 details the geographical characteristics 

of the selected study area. 

 
Source: Google Maps, 2019 

Figure 1. Study Location of Selected Parks in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya 

Table 1. Characteristic of the parks 

No. No Park Type of Park Description Size (ac) 

1 
KLCC Park, Kuala 

Lumpur 
City Park 

Smaller hardscape and landscaped spaces for a highly 
intensified urban environment in the city center, provide 

breathing spaces for people to gather, socialize, rest and relax 
50 

2 
Taman Tasik 

Permaisuri, Kuala 
Lumpur 

District Park 
Densely surrounded by several residential areas and is 

integrated with other sports and recreational facilities in the 
neighborhood 

122 

3 
Bukit Jalil 

Recreational Park, 
Kuala Lumpur 

District Park 

Located on hilly terrain and surrounded by ongoing 
developments in the district, commercial buildings and 

residential areas and a golf resort. Also integrated with other 
sports and recreational facilities in the neighborhood 

80 

4 
Putrajaya Botanical 
Garden, Putrajaya 

Metropolitan 
Park 

Located in the Putrajaya, often referred as "City in the 
Garden", the park is adjacent to the largest man-made pond 

and a neighboring park 
230 

 

2.2. Data Collection 

2.2.1. Sound level measurements 

This study employed measurements of sound levels in the parks based on objective acoustic environment 

by equivalent continuous sound pressure level (Shao et al., 2022). Like many other studies on acoustic 

environment in parks (Di et al., 2021; Evensen et al., 2016; Sudarsono et al., 2016; Sun et al., 2022), the acoustic 

measurements were measured based on the on-site soundwalk method where sound level measurements were 

taken along the park routes. Different observation sites were sampled due to the different sizes of these urban 

parks, with 20 points in KLCC Park, 27 points in Bukit Jalil Recreational Park, 24 points in Taman Tasik 

Permaisuri and 34 points in Putrajaya Botanical Garden, respectively (Figure 1). The SL-5868P sound level 

meter, held at a height of 1.5 meters above ground and at least 3.5 meters away from any sound-reflecting walls, 

buildings, or other structures, is used to measure the sound pressure level.  

The SL-5868P was chosen in this study for its measuring features, which included the LAeq (equivalent 

continuous A-weighted sound level). LAeq is the standard weighting method for outdoor measurements 

represent the loudness of sound perceived by human ears for a real human reaction to the level of intensity and 

discomfort (Guo, 2019). The sound levels were measured in dBA values along the park routes. The distance 

between the measurement location and the ground was 1.2-1.5m (Mookiah & Ramasamy, 2018). It. One 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

103 

measurement was taken every 10 seconds. Each location’s data was recorded for 5 minutes. Short duration 

samples can be justified in light of previous research and documentations (Axelsson et al., 2010; Oldoni et al., 

2015). Spatial interpolation methods were then calculated using ArcGIS Pro with geostatistical methods (Kalisa 

et al., 2022), to fit a particular model to the data and allows the prediction of the sound levels at unsampled 

locations in the park. 

2.2.2. Material and Software 

The data for this study was collected from primary data sources which includes land use map and satellite 

imagery for the year 2021 and aerial photography to verify the current land use of the site surrounding (Table 

2). 

Table 2. Dataset Used in the Study 

Dataset Source URL License 

Sentinel-2 
Landsat 8 Satellite Imagery 

(2021) 
EOS Land Viewer https://eos.com/landviewer/ 

Public 
domain 

Aerial Photography (2021) Google Earth Pro https://earth.google.com/web/ 
Public 
domain 

Existing Land Use (2021) 
Kuala Lumpur & Putrajaya 

ThinkCity 
https://maps.thinkcity.com.my/think-city/maps/95345/downtown-

kuala-lumpur Open 
Data 

License 
 

iPlan- PlanMalaysia 
 

https://iplan.planmalaysia.gov.my/public/geoportal?view=semasa 

Source: Analysis, 2023 

2.3. Method of Analysis  

2.3.1. Sound Level Data Analysis  

Using Microsoft Office Excel 2016, the maximum noise level (Lmax) and the minimum noise level (Lmin) 

were calculated from the collected data. The park’s equivalent noise level (LAeq) was calculated with Equation 

1, in the unit dBA. 

𝐿𝐴𝑒𝑞 = 10 log ∑ (10)
𝐿𝑖 

10(𝑡𝑖)
𝑖=𝑛
𝑖−𝑡 ………(Eq.1) 

 

where n is the total number of samples taken, Li is the noise level in dBA of the ith sample, and ti is the fraction 

of the total sample time. 

According to the Planning and Guideline for environmental Noise Limit and Control (Department of 

Environment, 2019), the noise level is considered to be in compliance if the LAeq value does not exceed the 

existing guideline for maximum LAeq by the receiving land use for planning and new development. Evaluations 

of L10 and L90 were performed in Microsoft Excel 2016 using [= PERCENTILE (array, k)], with k = 0.90 for 

L_10 evaluations and k=0.10 for L_90 evaluations. L_10 represents noise levels exceeding 10% of the 

measurements, while L_90 represents noise levels exceeding 90% of the measurements, known as background 

sounds in the area (Ismail et al., 2015; Napi et al., 2021). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was then used to 

determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in the sound levels between each study area. 

Using ArcGIS Pro, sound maps were then created for the spatial analysis of the sound levels. 

2.3.2. Spatial Analysis 

Several spatial analyses were carried out to identify the characteristics of the selected parks and their 

relationship to the soundscape of the parks including park surrounding and park landscape mapping. Figure 2 

details the steps undertaken for the study. All spatial analysis were computed using the ArcGIS Pro version 3.0.2 

(E.S.R..I Inc. Canada).  

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

104 

 
   Source: Analysis, 2022 

Figure 2. Flowchart of Research Analysis 

2.3.3. Spatial Mapping 

Secondary data is commonly used in green space and recreation spatial analysis to look at the 

characteristics of neighborhood parks based on the aspect of the park location and accessibility (Malik et al., 

2018). This study uses the secondary data obtained from the Interactive Web Map by Think City and iPlan 

Geoportal (Table 2) to extract the land uses of the plots surrounding the study area in Kuala Lumpur, the land-

use masterplan for Putrajaya from Putrajaya Corporation’s website and Google Earth Pro’s satellite image 

dataset (Figure 3a).  

 
Source: ThinkCity, 2023 

 
Source: iPlan geoportal, 2022 

                  (a) (b) 

 
Source: Google Map, 2022 

 
Source: Analysis, 2023 

(c) (d) 

Figure 3. Spatial mapping method for surrounding land use (a) Land use map from Think City’s 
interactive map; (b) Land use map from iPlan geoportal; (c) Satellite view of park surrounding from Google 

Earth Pro; (d) Land use of park’s surroundings (post-verification?) 

The satellite image utilized in the study is acquired during same period of data collection in November 

2021 with the most accurate cloud-free imagery for the studied area (Figure 3b). The satellite image was mainly 

               

             

             

           

              

                     

                 

              

          

            

                 

              

              

            

      

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

105 

used to produce the urban form maps of the parks’ surroundings to make sure that the data collected were 

accurate and precise for analysis (Figure 3c). A buffer of 200m and 500m from the park boundary was considered 

as the minimum impact of close proximity an infrastructure project such as roadway have onto developed areas 

in Guidelines of Noise (Department of Environment, 2019). The land uses of the park surroundings were 

validated with an on-site observation during the data collection process from November 2021 to August 2022 to 

update the land uses according to the current status of the building plots (Figure 3d). 

2.3.4. Kriging Interpolation Analysis 

Different spatial interpolation strategies can be used to produce sound maps (Aumond et al., 2018). Kriging 

interpolation has a solid statistical theory basis and can estimate an error point by point (Zuo et al., 2016), which 

is suitable for the present study. Although there are other interpolation methods that can be used to map sound 

levels, such as inverse distance weighting (IDW) and multiquadric interpolation (Harman et al., 2016), Kriging 

served as the best option in this study as there is at least moderate spatial autocorrelation among the sampled 

data points. 

Kriging interpolation is used in this study to estimate the sound level of the park from the points of 

measurements taken within the study area. The dataset of sound level measurements in the park is used as the 

input dataset, semi variogram model and configuration of the type of Kriging to generate the best linear unbiased 

estimate at each location. Cross validation was used to assess the semi-variogram model, for the prediction 

accuracy of the interpolated sound levels in the park. The weights are determined from a spherical variogram 

based on the spatial structure of the data and applied to the sample points according to the formula in Equation 

2, (ESRI, 2012):  

Ζ (𝜒𝜊 −  μ ) =  ∑ λi𝑛
𝑖=1   Ζ(𝜒𝑖) −  μ( 𝜒𝑜)………(Eq.2) 

where μ is a known stationary mean, assumed to be constant over the whole domain and calculated as the average 

of the data; the parameter λi is kriging weight, 𝑛 is the number of sampled points for the estimation depending 

on the search window; and μ( 𝜒𝑜) is the mean of the samples within the search window. 

2.3.5. NDVI Analysis 

While there are several landscape spatial indices such as landscape shape index (LSI), Largest Patch index 

(LPI), and others commonly used to measure landscape fragmentations (Rutledge, 2003), NDVI (Equation 3)  is 

commonly used to measure the effect of vegetation and prominence of sound sources, especially bio phony sounds 

of birds from the tree canopies (Leveau & Isla, 2021). It is also the most commonly used objective measure of 

vegetation density and is used to measure greenness exposure in urban settings for environmental health studies 

(Jimenez et al., 2022; Reid et al., 2018; Rhew et al., 2011).  

The use of NDVI provides a quantitative measure of vegetation cover, which can be used to assess the 

impact of vegetation on sound levels in urban parks. Vegetation has been found to have significant effect on noise 

reduction, emphasizing on the impact of vegetation canopy and canopy density (Caprio, 2005; Guo et al., 2020). 

The dataset for vegetation greenness based on the area of interest (AOI) is extracted from a cloud-based GIS 

platform approach, which is built upon Dede & Widiawaty’s (2020). research findings that the EOS platform can 

be used as an effective and efficient satellite image processing for vegetation greeneries. All vegetation greenness 

processing uses the EOS Platform accessed from Google Chrome (64 bit) browser. 

The NDVI dataset in this study was collected from the Sentinel-2 satellite in the EOS Platform (cloud-

based GIS vendor) using the Land Viewer, EOS Processing and EOS Storage. The analysis began by uploading 

AOI to the Land Viewer which then directs the map to the study area. Then, the sensor types and instruments, 

observation time, type of scene or mosaic data is entered into the platform. The NDVI workflow can then be 

selected for further analysis. Cloud coverage is limited to 0-10 during the acquisition of satellite images, data 

acquisition of satellite image is set to be within the study frame of November 2021 to May 2022. The satellite 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

106 

image with the least cloud coverage during the period of November 2021 to May 2022 is used for the NDVI 

analysis. NDVI values are calculated in relation with the following equation and for each pixel by using satellite 

images (Greenhill et al., 2003; Jiang et al., 2008; Jung et al., 2005). 

𝑁𝐷𝑉𝐼 =
𝑁𝐼𝑅[𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑 8]−𝑅𝐸𝐷 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑 4 

𝑁𝐼𝑅[𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑 8]+𝑅𝐸𝐷 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑 4}
 ………(Eq.3) 

where NIR Band 8 and RED Band 4 represent the near-infrared and red band of Sentinel-2A image product, 
respectively. 

3. Results and Discussion 

3.1. Sound Levels of the Parks 

The sound levels of the four parks obtained in this study is higher than the permissible sound level limit 

of 55dBA (Figure 4) for the parks designated by the DOE guideline and the WHO guidelines causing discomfort 

to some of the users, especially those who are more sensitive to noises (Department of Environment, 2019). This 

may cause interference with speech communication, disturbing individuals who want to converse or relax in the 

park. According to an ANOVA test, the sound levels were significantly different among the locations (F 

value=38.328, p <.01) suggesting that sound levels in parks could vary considerably between the different park 

types and locations. 

The park with a significantly higher sound level was KLCC Park, with LAeq of 67.1dBA (morning) and 

62.4dBA (evening) while the sound level in Putrajaya Botanical Garden is significantly lower than the other 

parks in the study with 61.6dBA (morning) and 57.4dBA (evening) (Figure 4). This suggests that the sound level 

of a park is dependent on the park’s characteristics and the use of the park. Sound level for all parks slightly 

decreases in the evening because of the pattern of park usage with majority of the park users in Kuala Lumpur 

prefer going to the park for fresh air (Sreetheran, 2017). This is excluding Taman Tasik Permaisuri which 

demonstrated a higher sound level in the parks during the evenings (60.2dBA) as compared to the 58.7dBA 

during the mornings, suggesting that the park has a higher volume of activities early in the morning than in the 

evenings, which might be because it is situated in the midst of a residential area, thus promoting the use of parks 

for children’s leisure in the evenings. This situation demonstrates how the decrease in the sound level of the park 

is linked to certain behaviors of the park users including their use of the park, and the influence on the park’s 

surroundings on the sound level of the parks.  

 
Source: Analysis, 2023 

Figure 4. Sound Levels of the Selected Parks at Different Times of the Day 

                                                        

         
           
          

            
                

                    
      

  
 
 
 
  
 
  
   
 
 
 
 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

107 

Noise levels were higher in KLCC Park and Bukit Jalil Recreational Park, surrounded by blocks of 

developments and heavy traffic (Figure 5a and 5d). Another reason of the high sound level in the park may be 

attributed to the large groups of people gathering by the park, evidently in KLCC Park where there is a large 

space for sitting by the musical fountain and in Bukit Jalil Recreational Park where there are areas designated 

for picnics and group activities in the park. The mean sound level of the Putrajaya Botanical Garden (57.4dBA 

during the evenings of a weekday) is the only park which is closer to the sound level limit for recreational areas. 

This can be justified by the surroundings of the park where Putrajaya Botanical Garden is located in Precinct 1 

of Putrajaya with only administrative offices and a large man-made pond bordering of the park (Figure 5e and 

5f).  

KLCC Park presented a great difference in the sound levels of the parks during the mornings and evenings 

from 67.1dBA to 62.5dBA. This difference suggests that KLCC Park during the morning may be more influenced 

by the disturbance effect of noise events in its surroundings, such as the traffic noises in the city center. The 

background noises in the urban area contribute to the higher overall sound level of the KLCC Park (Figure 5a). 

Putrajaya Botanical Garden also recorded a difference approximately 4dBA during the morning (61.6dBA) and 

evening (57.4dBA), which can be attributed to variations in traffic volume related to land use, background 

institutional noise, and pedestrian activity. The park’s large size may also reflect its variability where only certain 

areas of the park such as the area nearer to the park entrance have more activities while other sections of the 

park is quiet as the park is big and people may not travel through the entire park such as in Figure 5e which 

shows the lake broadways facing the calm lake. 

 
Source: Photographs during Site Visit, 2022 

Figure 5. (a) KLCC Park surrounded by high rise buildings; (b) Taman Tasik Permaisuri with an ongoing 
development of mixed-use building neighboring the park; (c) One of the main sources of biophonic sounds 

in Taman Tasik Permaisuri; (d) Bukit Jalil Recreational Park also overseeing high rise apartments; (e) 
Putrajaya Botanical Garden surrounded by a man-made lake and calm surrounding; (f) surroundings of 

Putrajaya Botanical Garden 

King et al. (2012) analysis the spatial and temporal variation in environmental noise with respect to land 

use. Their research concluded that there is a smaller noise variation in mixed use developments as compared to 

the noise levels in residential neighbourhoods. Similarly, findings of this research demonstrate the same effect 

 

(a) (b) 

(c) (d) 

(e) 
(f) 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

108 

where the noise level variation in KLCC Park, an area with mixed-use developments although has a higher mean 

sound level, but a lower variation as compared to the variation in sound levels of Putrajaya Botanical Garden 

with majority administrative land uses and Taman Tasik Permaisuri majorly surrounded by residential 

developments. However, findings of this study are not consistent with Napi et al. (2021) who investigated noise 

pollution in residential areas and commercial areas and found that although the noise level in Terengganu both 

exceeded the permitted limit, noise level in residential areas are higher than in commercial areas due to the traffic 

volume and noise from nearby activities. In this case, the sound level of the parks surrounded by mixed-use land 

use and commercial land use (KLCC Park and Bukit Jalil Recreational Park) recorded a higher sound level as 

compared to the ones surrounded by residential area (Taman Tasik Permaisuri). The sound levels in Taman 

Tasik Permaisuri during the time of measurement are mainly caused by the surrounding development of mixed 

development building, and the tree in the middle of the lake which attracts birds to the area (Figure 5b and 5c). 

The sound level of the park measured in the interior of the selected parks made it possible to study the pattern 

of the sound levels and its relationship to the surroundings of the parks. This can be justified by the landscape 

coverage of the parks and the involved sound sources which may decrease the sound pressure level with the 

progressive increase in distance from the noise source (Carvalho & Cleto, 2012). 

3.2. Surrounding Land Use of the Parks 

Figure 6a to Figure 6d illustrates the levels of sound measurement in the parks during peak hours of 

mornings and evenings. The results demonstrated a pattern in which higher sound levels were found at areas 

with high commercial land uses, for example in KLCC Park (Figure 6a) which is mainly sur-rounded by dense 

commercial high rises, and in Figure 6c where the west section of the park neighbouring a high-rise commercial 

building records a higher sound level in the park. Taman Tasik Permaisuri (Figure 6b) which is surrounded by 

higher density residential apartment to the west of the park also recorded a higher sound level, together with 

the northern section of the park which is bordering the highway. Putrajaya Botanical Garden in Figure 6d 

illustrates a low sound level (within the 55dBA noise level limit of parks) throughout most sections of the park 

due to its large size, fronting a large man-made lake along the park and institutional land uses surrounding the 

park which houses many government offices, resulting in a rather calm environment.  

These findings suggest a pattern in which areas with high density commercial areas such as in KLCC 

central records a high volume of background sounds. As contrast, small commercial lots in a neighbourhood do 

not influence the surrounding sound levels of the park as much. This can be explained in terms of the activities 

large commercial areas have to offer and the higher pedestrian volume in the area. These results support the 

influence of human activities on the increase of noise level, which is in line with findings from Kalisa et al. (2022) 

who revealed a high risk of noise sensitivity level in city centres and areas with high volume of human activities 

such as the areas with a concentration of small businesses. Residential developments on the other hand, do not 

impact the sound levels of the park as much as commercial developments. Although there appears to be a pattern 

where high-rise residential developments do result in a higher sound level in the areas of park bordering such 

residential development. Reasons of the high volume could be attributed to the traffic flow of the area such as in 

Taman Tasik Permaisuri where the west side of the park is surrounded by apartments and the residents tend to 

park their vehicles by the roadside resulting in massive jams in the area. Another evident finding is that sound 

levels of all the parks appear to be higher at sections of bordering highways and busy roads as a result of the 

high background traffic sounds. 

Commercial land use generates more noise pollution than open space with hard pavements or land used 

for residential purposes (Yuan et al., 2019) explaining the lower sound level in Taman Tasik Permaisuri 

surrounded by residential land uses and institutional areas (Figure 6b). On the other hand, Bukit Jalil 

Recreational Park is subjected to higher sound level due to the close proximity to the Bukit Jalil National Stadium 

and other commercial establishments. This can be explained by the volume of pedestrian activities and the 

commercial activities of the areas surrounding the park. Similarly, KLCC Park which is surrounded by the 

Petronas Twin Towers, Suria KLCC shopping mall and various office buildings, is likely to experience higher 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

109 

sound levels due to the commercial activities in the area. Similar to the area fronting the lake in KLCC Park 

(Figure 6a), commercial areas have higher noise level because of the number of people lingering in the area and 

the use of loudspeakers to attract clients to shop and music playing. That is why commercial land uses, which 

often include many streets for pedestrians and large retail areas, frequently result in a high-noise environment 

due to crowds of people and loud entertainments (Meng & Kang, 2015; Oyedepo & Saadu, 2009). 

 
(a) 

 
(b) 

 
(c) 

 
Source: Analysis, 2023 

(d) 
Figure 6. Sound levels extracted from the interpolations of the measurements in the park (a) KLCC Park; 

(b) Taman Tasik Permaisuri; (c) Bukit Jalil Recreational Park; (d) Putrajaya Botanical Garden. 

Comparing Putrajaya Botanical Garden and the other three parks in the study, Putrajaya Botanical Garden 
has the lowest sound level due to its surroundings where the only type of buildings within 200m of the park 
boundary is Institutional and Public Facilities which are located further from the park’s border. Although the 
park is surrounded by some commercial land uses, it is comparatively isolated from major commercial activities, 
which may result in a lower sound level of the park. These types of land uses do not produce many noises; thus, 
the sound level of the park is not affected by its surroundings and is only slightly over the permitted noise level 
by the Department of Environment and the WHO noise limit of 55dB. The only type of sound source which 
would significantly influence the sounds heard within the park is the traffic noise from the surrounding highway 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

110 

into the park. The lower sound level in Putrajaya Botanical Garden can also be explained by the presence of trees 
functioning as acoustic barriers and/or by the sound attenuation due to the increase of the distance from traffic 
road. Results of the research is supported by King et al. (2012) who highlighted that business zones document 
elevated levels of noise pollution, and noise levels in mixed land use areas are greater than in single land use 
areas.  

Relationship between Park’s Surrounding and Sounds Levels within the Park 

The primary reason that land use types significantly affect sound levels in urban environment is associated 

with the varying levels of human activity, traffic and noise-generating sources. This study’s spatial analysis of 

the park’s surrounding and the park’s sound level revealed that parks are louder when surrounded by residential 

developments and in central business districts, but quieter in areas with a high proportion of green space and 

institutional land uses. The high sound level of KLCC park, which is located in the city centre is reflective of its 

location in the central business district. This is in line with findings from Baloye and Palamuleni (2015) who 

compared the noise pollution levels in urban centres of Nigeria and discovered that noise disturbance is 

significant in areas with high population density, and has a negative impact on people’s daily life, sleep, work and 

study. It also agrees with the findings by Margaritis and Kang (2017) revealing strong correlations were 

identified between 60% to 79% that lower noise levels were detected in the cluster with higher green space 

coverage. 

The sounds generated within the park are reflective of its surroundings, and the allocation of activities 

within and surrounding the park. Commercial areas have higher sound levels due to the high human activity, 

traffic and presence of businesses that generate noise such as restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues. This 

is similar to KLCC park neighbouring Suria KLCC Twin Tower, which is fronting the restaurants and 

entertainment shops of KLCC, attracting a large number of visitors to the area at all hours of the day. Noise 

levels associated with urban land use have been found to be higher in commercial sites (70.0dBA) as compared 

to other land use types (Kalisa et al., 2022). In contrast, residential areas have lower sound levels because they 

consist of residences and living spaces, with the noise levels influenced by the population density of the residential 

area and the commercial or industrial activities (King et al., 2012). Mixed use areas, where commercial and 

residential land uses coexist, may experience elevated noise levels because of the combination of various noise 

sources and human activities (Lechner & Kirisits, 2022). 

Areas of the park near major construction sites and major roads have higher sound level measurements. 

Traffic conditions such as congestion and vehicle types also influence the noise level experienced within the park, 

which can be observed during the peak hours of traffic in Bukit Jalil Recreational Park and Putrajaya Botanical 

Garden. This shows that the size of the roadway and traffic conditions in the vicinity of the park can have an 

impact on the sound levels within the park. It is consistent with findings from Papafotiou et al., (2010) and 

Papafotiou et al., (2004) indicating that larger roadways with higher traffic volumes produce more noise which 

penetrates the interior of the park.  

Land uses associated with transportation and commercial activities in developing country cities contribute 

to the increase in noise pollution, as high noise levels in cities are attributable to traffic congestions resulting in 

honking and noise generated during the movement of vehicles (Aditya & Chowdary, 2020; Vijay et al., 2018). 

Thus, it is implied here that land use type such as transportation and commercial land uses affects noise pollution 

and the sound levels of the nearby parks. Margaritis et al. (2020) also found that areas of recreational and 

residential area showed dominance of natural sounds and human sounds; as compared to areas with mixed-use 

land uses such as commercial, industrial, institutional and residential with traffic sounds dominating the 

soundscape; and areas with commercial and recreational only having dominant human sounds and is less likely 

to be affected by traffic sounds. However, natural sounds were found to be almost imperceptible in these areas. 

Denser urban environments also typically have a higher noise level due to the increased traffic and human 

activity (Wickramathilaka et al., 2022). Tall commercial buildings are often found in central business districts, 

such as in KLCC Park. Building height reflects and scatters sound waves, which either increase or decrease the 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

111 

noise experienced within the park depending on the specific urban configuration (Yildirim & Arefi, 2023). In 

other words, taller buildings create noise barriers that prevent noise from entering the park, whereas shorter 

buildings may allow more noise to penetrate the interior of the park.  

Factors such as building heights, distance from park, density of the area, size of roadway and traffic 

conditions all play a role in determining the noise levels experienced within the park (Counts & Newman, 2019). 

The sound levels of the parks in Malaysia exceeded the permissible limit for both day-time and night-time, 

indicating that the parks in Malaysia are exposed to high noise levels from surrounding land uses, and that the 

acoustic environment in the parks may not be quiet enough for a good restoration. Similarly in an urban park in 

Madrid, park visitors closer to a major road reported lower levels of perceived restrictiveness and tranquillity 

compared to those further away (Matsinos et al., 2008). Therefore, noise pollution from traffic or other sources 

can disrupt the tranquillity and sense of escape that people seek in natural environments 

3.3. Effect of Landscape Spatial Pattern on Sound Levels 

Spatial patterns of local landscapes could affect soundscape perception through landscape composition and 

landscape configuration (Benocci et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2013). The sound levels experienced within the park can 

have an impact on its calm soundscape. The landscapes of the parks, especially at the border of the parks, allow 

for the reduction of the sound levels, as a noise barrier. The landscape composition of the park was analysed 

through the NDVI values of the park’s spatial landscape characteristics, as illustrated in Figure 7 and further 

break down in Table 3. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (2018), NDVI values ranges from 0.1 – 0.2 are 

barren rocks and open soils, while NDVI of 0.2 – 0.5 are sparse and moderate vegetations such as grasslands and 

shrubs. Higher NDVI values of 0.4 – 0.9 include dense vegetation such as trees canopy. 

Table 3. NDVI Values of the Selected Parks 

 KLCC Park Bukit Jalil Recreational 
Park 

Taman Tasik 
Permaisuri 

Putrajaya Botanical 
Garden 

Size (ha) 20.23 32.37 49.37 93.08 

Land cover (ha (%))     

Tree canopy 15.80 (78.1) 29.17 (90.1) 43.05 (87.2) 88.15 (94.7) 
Shrubs 0.99 (4.90) 1.92 (5.92) 2.29 (4.64) 3.26 (3.5) 
Land 1.56 (7.73) 0.87 (2.69) 1.12 (2.27) 1.05 (1.13) 
Water & Artificial surfaces 1.88 (9.28) 0.42 (1.29) 2.89 (5.86) 0.59 (0.63) 

Total percentage  
(ha (%)) 

20.23 (100.0) 32.97 (100.0) 49.37 (100.0) 93.08 (100.0) 

Source: EOSDA LandViewer, 2022 

NDVI value is higher in Putrajaya Botanical Garden with its surroundings surrounded by areas with 

vegetations and water surfaces (Figure 6d). There is a clear pattern in which darker greens were observed at the 

borders of the park to reduce the noise levels from the close proximity to the highway into Putrajaya. This is in 

agreement that the existence of walls in the perimeter of the urban parks’ functions, even partially, as noise 

barriers (Carvalho & Cleto, 2012). The big area of water surfaces (Red) at the border of the park, which is the 

man-made pond in Putrajaya, also contributes to the lower sound levels measured within the park. The center 

of Putrajaya Botanical Garden recorded high percentage of tree canopies with dense vegetations (Figure 7d), 

suggesting that the presence of bio phony sounds such as animals and birds in the area would be higher than in 

other sections of the park explaining the higher sound level in the area (Figure 6d). This is also in line with 

findings from Leveau & Isla (2021), that areas with NDVI index of higher than 0.3 has a higher presence of bird 

sounds, which increases the diversity of bio phony sounds in the area. 

Taman Tasik Permaisuri showed similar high NDVI tree coverage in the southern sections of the park, 

where people described it as a ‘forest-like’ area (Figure 5b). Interestingly, the sound levels in this section of the 

park are lower than other parts of the park (Figure 6b), which is different from the comparison of sound level 

and NDVI in Putrajaya Botanical Garden (Figure 6d). This may be because while Putrajaya Botanical Garden is 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

112 

relatively quiet due to the low volume of visitors and the large size of the park, the sound levels observed in the 

park is mainly contributed by the sounds of nature in the park; while Taman Tasik Permaisuri which is located 

in a residential area, have a higher volume of people using the park, resulting in a higher sound level at the 

northern area of the park where people gather for social activities. Figure 6b and 6d also demonstrated the lower 

sound levels of the two parks, justified by the higher tree coverages in the two parks acting as a noise barrier to 

the surrounding noises from outside the park. This may be a part of the reason Putrajaya Botanical Garden and 

Taman Permaisuri are described similarly to the park visitors as an area for relaxation and recreational purposes.  

 
Source: Analysis, 2023 

Figure 7. NDVI Values of the Parks (a) KLCC Park; (b) Taman Tasik Permaisuri;  
(c) Bukit Jalil Recreational Park; (d) Putrajaya Botanical Garden 

It is also clear from the NDVI figures of KLCC that the park’s surroundings are high with artificial 

surfaces, indicating a limited area of green spaces within close vicinity to the park (Figure 7a). It is almost similar 

to the Bukit Jalil Recreational Park where the surroundings of the park are commercial and residential 

development, except for the section towards the north of the park surrounding, where it is a golf and country 

resort. From Figure 6a, KLCC Park showed a higher overall sound level and a smaller noise level variation as 

compared to Taman Tasik Permaisuri and Putrajaya Botanical Garden. This can be explained by the location of 

the park highlighted in the previous section, as well as the lesser tree coverage in both parks. In other words, 

the location of KLCC Park in the central business district, as well as the lower vegetation density in the park, 

increases the background sounds within the park, explaining the higher sound levels heard from within the park. 

In this case, noise events such as noises from children playing or conversations would be less noticeable in KLCC 

Park as compared to other parks.  

The percentage of tree coverage in KLCC Park is the lowest at 78.1% compared to the other parks which 

are well over 87.0%. This may contribute to the higher mean sound level of the park and higher percentages of 

sounds from human activities (anthrophonic activities) as there are lesser biophonic sounds in the park. The 

findings here agree with Dzhambov et al., (2018) that green space with higher NDVI percentage which signifies 

greater tree cover are mediated by the lower sound level of the parks and reflects lower noise annoyance. 

According to Benocci et al. (2022) different urban environments and natural sound abundance contribute to the 

different soundscape scenario. The heavier tree coverages are located by the border of the park as a barrier to 

the noises outside the parks and increases the biophonic sounds heard from within the park.  

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

113 

Impact of Park Landscapes on The Sound Levels 

NDVI index has been used to monitor changes in land use patterns surrounding urban areas (Ehsan & 

Kazem, 2013) and the abundance of vegetations around people’s home (Larkin & Hystad, 2019). Evidently in 

Figure 7a which reflects a park located in a dense urban environment, the NDVI of the park’s surroundings are 

reds (<0.2), suggesting very limited vegetation coverage in the surroundings while showing greens (>0.6) within 

the boundaries of the park. Places with low NDVI value showed low level vegetations scattered around in small 

bits (Teeuwen et al., 2024). This suggests that the park environment of KLCC Park offers great contrast from 

its dense urban surroundings.  Likewise, in Singapore, the NDVI of urban areas ranges from 0.4 – 0.6, indicating 

a high vegetation coverage across the city (Gaw et al., 2021). Therefore, in comparison, the role of parks in 

Malaysia are more evident as a space for getaway of the urban environment and demonstrates a higher 

significance on the reductions of urban sound levels in the parks. 

The result showed that sound levels are higher across all four parks at areas with lower NDVI values, 

indicating less tree coverage in the area. This agrees with the analysis of de Oliveira et al. (2022) that planting 

varied vegetation typologies such as trees and shrubs in high density efficiently contributes to noise reduction. 

This is also similar to the finding that areas of parks with trees surrounded can be perceived as the ‘quietest’ 

while paths along areas of grass can be perceived as the ‘loudest’ (Guo, 2019). It suggests that vegetation 

coverage may contribute to a part of the observed result of sound levels within the park, because of the biophonic 

activity driver. Certain sound categories may also be influenced by the varieties of land cover and their spatial 

characteristics. Liu and Shen (2014) mentioned in his study of city parks that human sound perception showed 

close relationship towards water and building land cover. Their research also highlighted the correlation 

between soundscape diversity and that water areas were perceived as positive, suggesting that adding water 

features to parks could increase their appeal to parkgoers.  

The use of vegetation in urban planning and park design to reduce noise pollution is becoming increasingly 

common. The increase of vegetation cover in the form of forest and grassland is recommended to help reduce 

urban noise (Akay & Önder, 2022; Han et al., 2018; Ow & Ghosh, 2017) where green buffering zones can be 

installed to minimize the impact of noise on surrounding land uses (Yuan et al., 2019). Forest, trees and shrubs 

are effective for managing noise pollution, other types of land cover can also be useful considering the seasonal 

variation in attenuation across diverse land covers of urban environment. Thick-branched and densely covered 

trees and bushes can act as natural sound barriers and lowers noise levels (Papafotiou et al., 2010). Jaszczak et 

al. (2021) agreed that park design elements such as the arrangement of vegetation can also influence the park’s 

ability to reduce noise levels. Another study by Akay and Onder (2022) suggests that plant groups and the 

distance between the noise source can help with traffic sound mitigation.  

While anthropogenic noise is increasing globally due to population growth, increased transportation and 

resource extraction, land cover can influence noise attenuation (Gaudon et al., 2022). In a study conducted in 

Shenyang, China (Yang et al., 2019), the impact of high-density urban traffic noise on acoustic environment of 

urban parks were analyzed, revealing that parks were clustered, and LAeq of the traffic sound simulation on the 

roadways adjacent to the parks ranged from 59.0-70.9dBA, with a specific pattern based on time and day.  

Both Tasik Permaisuri and Bukit Jalil Recreational Park have a high wall surrounding the park and 

multiple natural features to hinder the transmission of noise inside the park. The areas where such landscape 

exist in Bukit Jalil Recreational Park, neighbouring the busy highway adjacent to the park, showed that traffic 

sounds were lower due to sound absorption effect. This is similar in Lu Xun Park where areas affected with 

traffic sounds were designed with multiple natural landscapes for sound absorption (Yang et al., 2019). The study 

also revealed that as one moves deeper into the interior of the park, the sound levels and perception of traffic 

noises decreases. This is influenced by the spatial characteristics, landscape characteristics and sound 

composition in the parks. Sounds were more likely to be reflected with paved grounds, making it not conducive 

to the attenuation of traffic noises. 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

114 

Landscape planning of a park is also carried out as a method of redesigning places most exposed to noise 

to maximise the soundscape perception in three parks in Olstyn, Poland (Jaszczak et al., 2021). The study then 

proposes two design activities to address noise reduction through the reduction of undesirable sounds and the 

introduction of desirable sounds to the park. Similar to the parks in Malaysia, areas which are most exposed to 

noises are often located at the park boundaries along the main access roads and park entrances. Therefore, similar 

measures of sound intervention can be considered in the planning phase of urban parks to minimize the impact 

of surrounding sounds and increase the beneficial influence of natural sounds for restoration. 

3.4. Implications from the Effect of Land Use and Landscape on Sound Levels of Parks 

This research focuses primarily on the influence between landscape and sound level, hence NDVI is used 

to examine the effect of vegetation density on sound level. In such context, it can be applied during the planning 

stage, to determine the suitable location for urban parks, as well as to propose plants with dense tree coverage 

especially in borders of parks at dense urban areas to minimize the impact of surrounding noises on the acoustic 

environment of the parks. This is essential to ensure and maximize the park’s function as a space of leisure, social 

activities, and relaxation. Similar to a study in Hong Kong (Lam et al., 2005), which emphasized the need of 

urban parks as a place of social functions rather than environmental functions, urban parks in Malaysia should 

be designed to provide greenery and social space for the urban community to relax and interact with one another 

to provide greenery and the social space for urban inhabitants to interact with one another.  

Research findings in this study demonstrated the pattern of land-uses and the landscape (vegetation 

coverage) in influencing the sound levels of the parks in Malaysia. This is crucial so that in the future planning 

of a park, the surrounding land uses, and its existing sound levels should be taken into consideration to minimize 

the impact of noise on the park’s environment. In the context of an existing urban environment, land use that is 

proposed to be in an area with a generally intolerable noise level may be permitted if the impacts and benefits of 

the proposed land use in that location are weighed. According to Mennitt et al. (2014), maps can be generated to 

represent and predict the consequences of sound level variation on landscape in different scenarios. In such cases, 

mitigation actions involving the use of landscape as a strong noise barrier should be considered.  

This is reflective in the City of San Diego General Plan (City of San Diego, 2008) which states that parks 

should be in calm locations whenever feasible and that noise exposure levels should be considered during the 

planning and design process. Place the most noise-sensitive uses, such as children's playgrounds and picnic 

tables, in the site's calmer areas when the parks are in livelier areas. These mitigation actions help to enhance 

the park’s environment for a better restoration and relaxation purpose as well as increasing the health benefits 

of the urban parks. As Margaritis and Kang (2017) highlighted, noise pollution is significantly influenced by 

urban design, urban density, urban morphology, street distribution, street environment, and urban land use. 

Gerolymatou et al. (2019) also noted that the design of public spaces and activities hosted within the 

neighbourhood buildings can have a significant acoustic impact on the sound comfort experienced by the 

residents. 

The noisiest park among the four-study areas is KLCC Park, the smallest park in the study located in the 

most central area of Kuala Lumpur city. The sound level within the park records decibels above 60dB(A), 

dominated by sounds from the surrounding land uses of high-density commercial areas and road traffic. The 

least noisy park in the study area reflects the biggest park among the study area located in Putrajaya. Also 

reflective of its location, the park’s surrounding is rather peaceful with a large portion of the park bordering the 

man-made lake of Putrajaya while the other sections border the highway into Putrajaya. Tranquility perceived 

in different environments is based on the visual and acoustic characteristics. However, the dense tree coverage 

as seen from the NDVI analysis illustrates the significant function of the shady trees as noise barriers to the 

park. The role of landscape coverage in influencing the sound levels of the parks is evident in Taman Tasik 

Permaisuri’s lower sound levels at the southern sections of the park, which is high in its NDVI level, signifying 

a dense tree coverage.  

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

115 

The findings of this study suggest that there is a pattern in the influence of parks’ surrounding land use 

and landscape of the parks on the sound levels measured in the park. These results confirm that especially in 

urban environments with high densities and busy settings, the sound levels measured within the parks located 

in such environment to be higher that the permissible noise level limit of outdoor spaces (55dBA), which may 

cause possible interference in speech intelligibility and some inconvenience to visitors who wish to communicate 

or relax in these spaces. These analyses suggest that the ability of urban parks to improve the sound quality is 

limited. 

4. Conclusion 

The study contributes to the understanding of the role of parks from the influence of the surrounding 

sound level and the importance of vegetation coverage in parks to mitigate the urban sounds, especially in urban 

areas. This study demonstrates how surrounding land use provides opportunities for vibrant activities and 

pedestrian flow will increase the sound levels of the park. It also shows how landscape of the park in terms of the 

vegetation density can be used to reduce the impact of surrounding sounds for a calmer park experience.  

Even though NDVI indices can be used as an indicator of the how vegetation coverage reduces 

surrounding sounds into the park, it would be beneficial if the perception of the park visitors were taken into 

consideration as well to provide a deeper insight of how perceived sound sources and volume have an impact on 

visitors’ experience. For example, further studies can be carried out to measure how and why dense vegetation 

coverage leads to higher biophonic activities and the effect of biophonic sounds on park experiences. Therefore, 

a limitation to this study is that the influence of landscape and land-use of the parks’ surroundings in this study 

were only measured by the objective measurements of the sound levels.  

While the perceived sound level of the park visitors may differ according to their tolerance of noise levels, 

it is likely that the influence of sound level on the visitors’ perception may differ according to the personal 

preferences of the park visitors. Hence further study should investigate the relationship between people’s 

perception of the sound levels of the parks. The study also uses NDVI to measure the landscape spatial pattern 

on sound level. However, NDVI only measures the amount of vegetation in an area and does not provide 

information on the type or quality of the vegetation. Although NDVI index on its own can be used to measure 

the relationship of vegetation density with sound level, it is not sufficient to differentiate between the sound 

component of the parks due to the acoustic complexity of the area and to identify the effect on the soundscape 

perception of the park visitors. This suggests that other types of landscape indices can be considered in 

investigating the relationship between landscape spatial pattern and sound levels for a thorough understanding 

of landscape effect on acoustic perceptions. This study is also limited to the sound levels measured from within 

the park boundaries thus will benefit from the comparison of the sound level at the exterior boundary of the park 

and the internal boundary of the park. Future studies would benefit to include that aspect as to validate and 

examine the relationship between the influence of tree canopies as effective noise barriers from the surrounding 

noises. 

As parks play a role in promoting recreation, park planning and design should consider including 

soundscape interventions, NDVI and land use analysis to see which areas may be prone to noise pollution so that 

actions on mitigation can be planned. The purpose of a park is for recreation and relaxation from busy urban 

settings; therefore, its environment should always be conducive for recreation purposes. Conflicts of park use 

due to its inconducive environment should always be minimized to the very least to maximize the benefits of 

parks in cities. Therefore, further emphasis should be undertaken on the concept of soundscape in parks to 

enhance the park environment in Malaysia. 

5. Acknowledgements 

NHAD acknowledges the DOST- Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources 

Research and Development (PCAARRD) for the Balik Scientist grant. KJAR and JELD acknowledges Deutscher 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

116 

Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) German Academic Exchange Service for the in Country/in Region 

Scholarship. PASM and AOP would like to thank the DOST – Accelerated Science and Technology Human 

Resource Development Program (ASTHRDP) for the Scholarship. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. 

6. References 

Aditya, K., & Chowdary, V. (2020). Influence of Honking on the Road Traffic Noise Generated at Urban Rotaries for 

Heterogeneous Traffic. Environmental and Climate Technologies, 24(1), 23–42. [Crossref]  

Ajayi, A. O., & Adeleke, T. (2022). Soundscape Mapping of Agodi Park and Gardens, Ibadan Southwestern Nigeria. Journal 

of Event, Tourism and Hospitality Studies, 2(1), 150–176. 

Akay, A., & Önder, S. (2022). An acoustical landscaping study: the impact of distance between the sound source and the 

landscape plants on traffic noise reduction. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24(10), 12036–12058. 

[Crossref]  

Aletta, F., Brambilla, G., Maffei, L., & Masullo, M. (2016). Urban Soundscapes: Characterization of a Pedestrian Tourist 

Route in Sorrento (Italy). Urban Science, 1(1), 4. [Crossref]  

Aumond, P., Can, A., Mallet, V., De Coensel, B., Ribeiro, C., Botteldooren, D., & Lavandier, C. (2018). Kriging-based spatial 

interpolation from measurements for sound level mapping in urban areas. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of 

America, 143(5), 2847–2857. [Crossref]  

Axelsson, Ö., Nilsson, M. E., & Berglund, B. (2010). A principal components model of soundscape perception. The Journal 

of the Acoustical Society of America, 128(5), 2836–2846. [Crossref]  

Baloye, D. O., & Palamuleni, L. G. (2015). A comparative land use-based analysis of noise pollution levels in selected urban 

centers of Nigeria. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(10), 12225–12246. [Crossref]  

Bele, A., & Wasade, N. (2018). Perception, Use and Experience of Urban Open Spaces – Case Studies of Neighbourhood 

Public Parks in Nagpur. International Journal of Science and Research, 7(9), 712–717. [Crossref]  

Benocci, R., Potenza, A., Bisceglie, A., Roman, H. E., & Zambon, G. (2022). Mapping of the Acoustic Environment at an 

Urban Park in the City Area of Milan, Italy, Using Very Low-Cost Sensors. Sensors, 22(9), 1–23. [Crossref]  

Brambilla, G., Gallo, V., Asdrubali, F., & D’Alessandro, F. (2013). The perceived quality of soundscape in three urban parks 

in Rome. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 134(1), 832–839. [Crossref]  

Buxton, R. T., Pearson, A. L., Allou, C., Fristrup, K., & Wittemyer, G. (2021). A synthesis of health benefits of natural 

sounds and their distribution in national parks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of 

America, 118(14), e2013097118. [Crossref] 

Caprio, A. (2005). Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Pre-Euro-American Fire at a Watershed Scale, Sequoia and Kings Canyon 

National Parks. 

Carvalho, A. P., & Cleto, R. A. (2012). Sound and noise in urban parks. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 18(1), 40001. AIP 

Publishing. [Crossref]  

Cassina, L., Fredianelli, L., Menichini, I., Chiari, C., & Licitra, G. (2018). Audio-visual preferences and tranquillity ratings 

in urban areas. Environments - MDPI, 5(1), 1–17. [Crossref]  

City of San Diego. (2008). General Plan City of San Diego. 

Counts, M. D., & Newman, G. (2019). Sound Parks: Invisible Agents of Urban Well-Being. Research Journal, 11.02, 45–62. 

Retrieved from 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338514305_Sound_Parks_Invisible_Agents_of_Urban_Well-Being 

Dede, Moh., & Widiawaty, M. A. (2020). Utilization Eos Platform As Cloud-Based Gis To Analyze Vegetation Greenness 

in Cirebon Regency, Indonesia. Journal of Information Technology and Its Utilization, 3(1), 1. [Crossref]  

Department of Environment. (2019). Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control. 

Di, G., Xiang, J., Yao, Y., Chen, C., & Lin, Q. (2021). A Study on the Soundscape Satisfaction Degree of Urban Landscape Garden 

Parks. [Crossref] 

Dzhambov, A., Hartig, T., Markevych, I., Tilov, B., & Dimitrova, D. (2018). Urban residential greenspace and mental health 

in youth: Different approaches to testing multiple pathways yield different conclusions. Environmental Research, 

160(June 2017), 47–59. [Crossref]  

Ehsan, S., & Kazem, D. (2013). Analysis of land use-land covers changes using normalized difference vegetation index 

(NDVI) differencing and classification methods. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 8(37), 4614–4622. [Crossref]  

ESRI. (2012). Understanding ordinary kriging. ArcGIS Help 10.1, 2020. Retrieved from 

https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/geostatistical-analyst/understanding-ordinary-

kriging.htm 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120
https://doi.org/10.2478/RTUECT-2020-0002
https://doi.org/10.1007/S10668-021-01930-Y/METRICS
https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci1010004
https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5034799
https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3493436
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121012225
https://doi.org/10.21275/ART20191317
https://doi.org/10.3390/s22093528
https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4807811
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2013097118
https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4772735
https://doi.org/10.3390/environments5010001
https://doi.org/10.30818/jitu.3.1.3257
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-529796/v1
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.09.015
https://doi.org/10.5897/AJAR11.1825


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

117 

European Environmental Agency. (2020). Environmental noise in Europe — 2020 — European Environment Agency. Retrieved 

from https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/environmental-noise-in-europe 

Evensen, K. H., Raanaas, R. K., & Fyhri, A. (2016). Soundscape and perceived suitability for recreation in an urban designated 

quiet zone. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 20, 243–248. [Crossref]  

Fang, X., Gao, T., Hedblom, M., Xu, N., Xiang, Y., Hu, M., … Qiu, L. (2021). Soundscape perceptions and preferences for 

different groups of users in urban recreational forest parks. Forests, 12(4), 468. [Crossref]  

Fry, D., Aaron Hipp, J., Alberico, C., Huang, J. H., Lovasi, G. S., & Floyd, M. F. (2021). Land use diversity and park use in 

New York City. Preventive Medicine Reports, 22, 101321. [Crossref]  

Gaudon, J. M., McTavish, M. J., Hamberg, J., Cray, H. A., & Murphy, S. D. (2022). Noise attenuation varies by interactions 

of land cover and season in an urban/peri-urban landscape. Urban Ecosystems, 25(3), 811–818. [Crossref]  

Gaw, L. Y. F., & Richards, D. R. (2021). Development of spontaneous vegetation on reclaimed land in Singapore measured 

by NDVI. PLoS ONE, 16(1 January). [Crossref]  

Gerolymatou, G., Rémy, N., Vogiatzis, K., & Zafiropoulou, V. (2019). Assessing health effects and soundscape analysis as 

new mitigation actions concerning the aircraft noise impact in small-and middle-size urban areas in Greece. 

Environments - MDPI, 6(1), 4. [Crossref]  

Greenhill, D. R., Ripke, L. T., Hitchman, A. P., Jones, G. A., & Wilkinson, G. G. (2003). Characterization of suburban areas 

for land use planning using landscape ecological indicators derived from IKONOS-2 multispectral imagery. IEEE 

Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 41(9 PART I), 2015–2021. [Crossref]  

Gunnarsson, B., Knez, I., Hedblom, M., & Sang, O. (2017). Effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitude on 

perception of urban green space. Urban Ecosystems, 20(1), 37–49. [Crossref]  

Guo, J. (2019). The Assessment of Soundscape Quality in Urban Parks - A Case Study in Penn Park (Masters of Enviromental 

Studies Capstone Projects, University of Pennsylvania Follow). University of Pennsylvania Follow. Retrieved from 

https://repository.upenn.edu/mes_capstoneshttps://repository.upenn.edu/mes_capstones/82Thispaperispostedat

ScholarlyCommons.https://repository.upenn.edu/mes_capstones/82 

Guo, Y., Wang, C., Lei, S., Yang, J., & Zhao, Y. (2020). A Framework of Spatio-Temporal Fusion Algorithm Selection for 

Landsat NDVI Time Series Construction. International Journal of Geo-Information., 9(11). [Crossref] 

Han, X., Huang, X., Liang, H., Ma, S., & Gong, J. (2018). Analysis of the relationships between environmental noise and 

urban morphology. Environmental Pollution, 233, 755–763. 

Harman, B. I., Koseoglu, H., & Yigit, C. O. (2016). Performance evaluation of IDW, Kriging and multiquadric interpolation 

methods in producing noise mapping: A case study at the city of Isparta, Turkey. Applied Acoustics, 112, 147–157. 

[Crossref]  

Hong, J., Lam, B., Ong, Z., Gupta, R., & Gan, W. (2017). Suitability of natural sounds to enhance soundscape quality in 

urban residential areas. 24th International Congress on Sound and Vibration. 

Huang, J. H., Hipp, J. A., Marquet, O., Alberico, C., Fry, D., Mazak, E., … Floyd, M. F. (2020). Neighborhood characteristics 

associated with park use and park-based physical activity among children in low-income diverse neighborhoods in 

New York City. Preventive Medicine, 131. [Crossref]  

International Standardisation Organisation. (2014). ISO 12913-1:2014(en), Acoustics — Soundscape — Part 1: Definition 

and conceptual framework. Retrieved 16 February 2022, from https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:12913:-

1:ed-1:v1:en 

Ismail, M., Abdullah, S., & Yuen, F. S. (2015). Study on environmental noise pollution at three different primary schools in 

Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu State. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 10(2), 103–111. 

Jaszczak, A., Małkowska, N., Kristianova, K., Bernat, S., & Pochodyła, E. (2021). Evaluation of soundscapes in urban parks 

in olsztyn (Poland) for improvement of landscape design and management. Land, 10(1), 1–26. [Crossref]  

Jiang, X., Wan, L., Du, Q., & Hu, B. X. (2008). Estimation of NDVI Images Using Geostatistical Methods. Earth Science 

Frontiers, 15(4), 71–80. [Crossref]  

Jimenez, R. B., Lane, K. J., Hutyra, L. R., & Fabian, M. P. (2022). Spatial resolution of Normalized Difference Vegetation 

Index and greenness exposure misclassification in an urban cohort. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental 

Epidemiology 2022 32:2, 32(2), 213–222. [Crossref]  

Jung, A., Kardeván, P., & Tokei, L. (2005). Detection of urban effect on vegetation in a less built-up Hungarian city by 

hyperspectral remote sensing. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 30(1-3 SPEC. ISS.), 255–259. [Crossref] 

Kaczynski, A. T., Johnson, A. J., & Saelens, B. E. (2010). Neighborhood land use diversity and physical activity in adjacent 

parks. Health and Place, 16(2), 413–415. [Crossref]  

Kalisa, E., Irankunda, E., Rugengamanzi, E., & Amani, M. (2022). Noise levels associated with urban land use types in Kigali, 

Rwanda. Heliyon, 8(9), e10653. [Crossref]  

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.09.003
https://doi.org/10.3390/f12040468
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101321
https://doi.org/10.1007/S11252-021-01194-4
https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0245220
https://doi.org/10.3390/environments6010004
https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2003.814629
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-016-0581-x
https://doi.org/10.3390/IJGI9110665
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APACOUST.2016.05.024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105948
https://doi.org/10.3390/land10010066
https://doi.org/10.1016/s1872-5791(08)60040-8
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-022-00409-w
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2004.08.041
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.11.004
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.HELIYON.2022.E10653


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

118 

King, G., Roland-Mieszkowski, M., Jason, T., & Rainham, D. G. (2012). Noise levels associated with urban land use. Journal 

of Urban Health, 89(6), 1017–1030. [Crossref]  

Lam, K.-C., Ng, S.-L., Hui, W.-C., & Chan, P.-K. (2005). Environmental Quality of Urban Parks And Open Spaces In Hong 

Kong. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 111(1–3), 55–73. [Crossref]  

Larkin, A., & Hystad, P. (2019). Evaluating street view exposure measures of visible green space for health research. Journal 

of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 29(4), 447–456. [Crossref]  

Lechner, C., & Kirisits, C. (2022). The Effect of Land-Use Categories on Traffic Noise Annoyance. International Journal of 

Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315444 

Leveau, L. M., & Isla, F. I. (2021). Predicting bird species presence in urban areas with NDVI: An assessment within and 

between cities. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 63(November 2020), 127199. [Crossref]  

Liniger, H., Riva, M. J., & Schwilch, G. (2016). Analysis of NDVI variance across landscapes and seasons allows assessment 

of degradation and resilience to shocks in Mediterranean dry ecosystems. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 18, 2016–

14591.  

Liu, H. L., & Shen, Y. S. (2014). The Impact of Green Space Changes on Air Pollution and Microclimates: A Case Study of 

the Taipei Metropolitan Area. Sustainability (Switzerland), 6(12), 8827–8855. [Crossref]  

Liu, J., Kang, J., Behm, H., & Luo, T. (2014). Effects of landscape on soundscape perception: Soundwalks in city parks. 

Landscape and Urban Planning, 123, 30–40. [Crossref]  

Liu, J., Kang, J., Luo, T., & Behm, H. (2013). Landscape effects on soundscape experience in city parks. Science of The Total 

Environment, 454–455, 474–481. [Crossref]  

Liu, J., Kang, J., Luo, T., Behm, H., & Coppack, T. (2013). Landscape and Urban Planning Spatiotemporal variability of 

soundscapes in a multiple functional urban area. Landscape and Urban Planning, 115, 1–9. [Crossref]  

Lynch, E., Joyce, D., & Fristrup, K. (2011). An assessment of noise audibility and sound levels in U.S. National Parks. 

Landscape Ecology, 26(9), 1297–1309. [Crossref]  

Ma, G., Tian, Y., Ju, T., & Ren, Z. (2006). Assessment of traffic noise pollution from 1989 to 2003 in Lanzhou City. 

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 123(1–3), 413–430. Retrieved from 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17036256/ 

Malik, A., Akbar, R., Maryati, S., & Natalivan, P. (2018). Spatial analysis related to the location characteristics of park 

supply. Case study: Music Park and Pendawa Park, Bandung City, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and 

Environmental Science, 158(1). Institute of Physics Publishing. [Crossref]  

Maller, C. J., Henderson-Wilson, C., & Townsend, M. (2009). Rediscovering nature in everyday settings: or how to create 

healthy environments and healthy people. EcoHealth, 6(4), 553–556. [Crossref]  

Margaritis, E., & Kang, J. (2017). Relationship between green space-related morphology and noise pollution. Ecological 

Indicators, 72, 921–933. [Crossref]  

Margaritis, E., Kang, J., Aletta, F., & Axelsson, Ö. (2020). On the relationship between land use and sound sources in the 

urban environment. Journal of Urban Design, 25(5), 626–642. [Crossref]  

Matsinos, Y. G., Mazaris, A. D., Papadimitriou, K. D., Mniestris, A., Hatzigiannidis, G., Maioglou, D., & Pantis, J. D. (2008). 

Spatio-temporal variability in human and natural sounds in a rural landscape. Landscape Ecology, 23(8), 945–959. 

[Crossref]  

Meng, Q., & Kang, J. (2015). The influence of crowd density on the sound environment of commercial pedestrian streets. 

Science of the Total Environment, 511, 249–258. [Crossref]  

Mennitt, D., Sherrill, K., & Fristrup, K. (2014). A geospatial model of ambient sound pressure levels in the contiguous 

United States. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 135(5), 2746–2764. [Crossref]  

Mookiah, B. C., & Ramasamy, K. (2018). A Review of Recent Studies on Landscape Influence on Urban Park. JETIRC006030 

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 5(6), 165–169. Retrieved from www.jetir.org 

Napi, N. N. L. M., Zainal, M. H., Abdullah, S., Dom, N. C., Mansor, A. A., Ahmed, A. N., & Ismail, M. (2021). Spatio-

Temporal Modelling of Noise Pollution. International Journal of Integrated Engineering, 13(3), 125–131. [Crossref] 

Oldoni, D., De Coensel, B., Bockstael, A., Boes, M., De Baets, B., & Botteldooren, D. (2015). The acoustic summary as a tool 

for representing urban sound environments. Landscape and Urban Planning, 144, 34–48. [Crossref]  

de Oliveira, J. D., Biondi, D., & dos Reis, A. R. N. (2022). The role of urban green areas in noise pollution attenuation. DYNA 

(Colombia), 89(220), 210–215. [Crossref]  

Ow, L. F., & Ghosh, S. (2017). Urban cities and road traffic noise: Reduction through vegetation. Applied Acoustics, 120, 15–

20. [Crossref]  

Oyedepo, O. S., & Saadu, A. A. (2009). A comparative study of noise pollution levels in some selected areas in Ilorin Metropolis, 

Nigeria. 158(1–4), 155–167. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18846431/ 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-012-9721-7
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-8039-2
https://doi.org/10.1038/S41370-018-0017-1
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127199
https://doi.org/10.3390/su6128827
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.12.003
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2013.03.038
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.03.008
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-011-9643-x
https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/158/1/012028
https://doi.org/10.1007/S10393-010-0282-5
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.09.032
https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2020.1730691
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-008-9250-7
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.060
https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4870481
https://doi.org/10.30880/ijie.2021.13.03.015
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.08.013
https://doi.org/10.15446/DYNA.V89N220.95822
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2017.01.007


Lee et al./ Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

119 

Papafotiou, M., Chatzijiannaki, Z., & Stilianaki, G. (2010). The effect of design of an urban park on traffic noise abatement. 

Acta Horticulturae, 881, 331–334. [Crossref]  

Papafotiou, Maria, Chronopoulos, J., Tsiotsios, A., Mouzakis, K., & Balotis, G. (2004). The impact of design on traffic noise 

control in an urban park. Acta Horticulturae, 643, 277–279. [Crossref]  

Pheasant, R. J., Fisher, M. N., Watts, G. R., Whitaker, D. J., & Horoshenkov, K. V. (2010). The importance of auditory-

visual interaction in the construction of ‘tranquil space’. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(4), 501–509. 

[Crossref]  

Reid, C. E., Kubzansky, L. D., Li, J., Shmool, J. L., & Clougherty, J. E. (2018). It’s not easy assessing greenness: A comparison 

of NDVI datasets and neighborhood types and their associations with self-rated health in New York City. Health and 

Place, 54. [Crossref]  

Rhew, I. C., Vander Stoep, A., Kearney, A., Smith, N. L., & Dunbar, M. D. (2011). Validation of the Normalized Difference 

Vegetation Index as a Measure of Neighborhood Greenness. Annals of Epidemiology, 21(12), 946–952. [Crossref]  

Rutledge, D. (2003). Landscape indices as measures of the effects of fragmentation: can pattern reflect process? DOC Science 

Internal Series 98, 1–27. Retrieved from 

http://sof.eomf.on.ca/Biological_Diversity/Ecosystem/Fragmentation/Indicators/Shape/Documents/Landscape

_fragmentation_ 

Sakieh, Y., Jaafari, S., Ahmadi, M., & Danekar, A. (2017). Green and calm: Modeling the relationships between noise 

pollution propagation and spatial patterns of urban structures and green covers. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 

24, 195–211. [Crossref]  

Sefcik, J. S., Kondo, M. C., Klusaritz, H., Sarantschin, E., Solomon, S., Roepke, A., … Jacoby, S. F. (2019). Perceptions of 

Nature and Access to Green Space in Four Urban Neighborhoods. International Journal of Environmental Research and 

Public Health, 16(13). [Crossref]  

Shao, Y., Hao, Y., Yin, Y., Meng, Y., & Xue, Z. (2022). Improving Soundscape Comfort in Urban Green Spaces Based on 

Aural-Visual Interaction Attributes of Landscape Experience. Forests, 13(8). [Crossref]  

Sreetheran, M. (2017). Exploring the urban park use, preference and behaviours among the residents of Kuala Lumpur, 

Malaysia. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 25(November), 85–93. [Crossref]  

Sudarsono, A. S., Lam, Y. W., & Davies, W. J. (2016). The effect of sound level on perception of reproduced soundscapes. 

Applied Acoustics, 110, 53–60. [Crossref]  

Sun, C., Meng, Q., Yang, D., & Wu, Y. (2022). Soundwalk path affecting soundscape assessment in urban parks. Frontiers in 

Psychology, 13. [Crossref] 

Tashakor, S., Chamani, A., & Moshtaghie, M. (2023). Noise pollution prediction and seasonal comparison in urban parks 

using a coupled GIS- artificial neural network model. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195(2). [Crossref]  

Teeuwen, R., Milias, V., Bozzon, A., & Psyllidis, A. (2024). How well do NDVI and OpenStreetMap data capture people’s 

visual perceptions of urban greenspace? Landscape and Urban Planning, 245, 105009. [Crossref]  

Tong, H., & Kang, J. (2020). Relationship between urban development patterns and noise complaints in England. Urban 

Analytics and City Science, 1–18. [Crossref]  

Tse, M. S., & Kwan, C. (2013). Perception of urban park soundscape. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 2012 

Apr;131(4):2762-71. [Crossref]  

U.S. Geological Survey. (2018). NDVI, the Foundation for Remote Sensing Phenology. https://www.usgs.gov/special-

topics/remote-sensing-phenology/science/ndvi-foundation-remote-sensing-phenology 

Uebel, K., Rhodes, J. R., Wilson, K., & Dean, A. J. (2022). Urban Park Soundscapes: Spatial and social factors influencing 

bird and traffic sound experiences. People and Nature. [Crossref]  

Vijay, R., Chakrabarti, T., & Gupta, R. (2018). Characterization of Traffic Noise and Honking Assessment of an Indian 

Urban Road. Fluctuation and Noise Letters, 17(4), 493–511. [Crossref]  

Votsi, N. E. P., Drakou, E. G., Mazaris, A. D., Kallimanis, A. S., & Pantis, J. D. (2012). Distance-based assessment of open 

country Quiet Areas in Greece. Landscape and Urban Planning, 104(2), 279–288. [Crossref]  

Wang, B., & Kang, J. (2011). Effects of urban morphology on the traffic noise distribution through noise mapping: A 

comparative study between UK and China. Applied Acoustics, 72(8), 556–568. [Crossref]  

Wickramathilaka, N., Ujang, U., Azri, S., & Choon, T. L. (2022). Influence of Urban Green Spaces on Road Traffic Noise 

Levels- A Review. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS 

Archives, 48(4/W3-2022), 195–201. [Crossref]  

Yang, X., Zhang, Y., & Guo, S. (2019). Investigation and study on the influence of high-density urban traffic noise on the 

acoustic environment of urban parks. Proceedings of the International Congress on Acoustics, 2019-(September), 6713–

6720. [Crossref]  

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.881.46
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.643.35
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.03.006
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.09.005
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ANNEPIDEM.2011.09.001
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.UFUG.2017.04.008
https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH16132313
https://doi.org/10.3390/f13081262
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.003
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2016.03.011
https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYG.2022.1096952
https://doi.org/10.1007/S10661-022-10858-3
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LANDURBPLAN.2024.105009
https://doi.org/10.1177/2399808320930247
https://doi:%2010.1121/1.3693644
https://doi.org/10.1002/PAN3.10409
https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219477518500311
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.11.004
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APACOUST.2011.01.011
https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W3-2022-195-2022
https://doi.org/10.18154/RWTH-CONV-239845


Lee et al. / Geoplanning: Journal of Geomatics and Planning, Vol 11, No 1, 2024, 99-120 
DOI: 10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120 

 

120 

Yildirim, Y., & Arefi, M. (2023, February 13). Seeking the Nexus Between Building Acoustics and Urban Form: A 

Systematic Review. Current Pollution Reports, Vol. 1, pp. 1–15. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland 

GmbH. [Crossref] 

Yuan, M., Yin, C., Sun, Y., & Chen, W. (2019). Examining the associations between urban built environment and noise 

pollution in high-density high-rise urban areas: A case study in Wuhan, China. Sustainable Cities and Society, 50, 

101678. Retrieved from https://research.polyu.edu.hk/en/publications/examining-the-associations-between-

urban-built-environment-and-no 

Zuo, J., Xia, H., Liu, S., Qiao, Y., & Wang, Y. (2016). Mapping Urban Environmental Noise Using Smartphones. Sensors. 

16(10). [Crossref]  

 

 

 

 

 

https://doi.org/10.14710/geoplanning.11.1.99-120
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-023-00250-1
https://doi.org/10.3390/s16101692

