Taiwan Soundscape

Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration has finally generated a simple version of the noise map. Although it includes only 3 districts of Taipei, covering 25 square kms, there is a start. It is definitely a good news!

What interests me is that Taiwanese don't seem to appreciate this outcome. They consider that it cannot improve the surrounding noise pollution immediately. I personally think that the EPA should declair its planned usages when it announced the production of this map in order to gain people's understanding and support. For example, in order to improve Taiwan's noise environment, we need to consider the strategic approach instead of keeping ticketing whoever makes noises. To do so, the noise map is a very important guidance-- the governmental policy makers, architects, interior designers etc can all use it to plan cities, buildings and houses. For example, with a noisy road, they can consider expanding the area of trees, building noise barriers, making waterfalls or fountains or making the traffic go underground etc.

Many people in Taiwan have taken the installation of air tight windows for certain. It is a frustrating phenomenon. People are used to give up their right of listening to non-pressure natural sounds. They either close windows or play music. People, please wake up your ears! Have you heard birds chirping today? Were you waken up by the alarm clocks again rather than the birds? Have you heard cicadas of this summer ni-niing yet? Do you know they have come out of the earth?

Hopefully people have the awareness of the sonic-environmental protection. Please don't give up your right of listening to good sounds!

In the past, I introduced London's noise map in the blog of Taiwanese Soundscape. I also mentioned the connections between sound design and city planning. If you want to know more about these two aspects, please visit the archive of this blog.