Appreciation of Soundscape Design of Traffic Streams at Road Junctions – A Case Study of Ring road Junction, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India

Urbanization is a worldwide phenomenon. Globally, there is a constant increase in urbanization across various cities. Cities' urban spaces, in terms of open, built-up, and green space, are changing as a result of this rapid development. Creating or redefining an urban environment necessitates careful planning and guidelines, as well as a user-friendly approach to design. The visual aesthetics of space are prioritized over all other dynamics and considerations required to complete a proper urban setting. Roads and built-up spaces are key components of an urban setting. The sound propagation in between these spaces decides the livability of people. In most of the urban cities across the world, the increasing noise level in the communities put forth a major issue for its people and their livability. Redesigning the spaces with an alternate strategy to create a better acoustical urban environment is important. One such strategy is a soundscape and it uses environmental sound to redefine an urban space. A soundscape approach to the design will bring out a positive and stress-free surrounding. This paper aims to study and understand urban sound and the implementations of soundscape design in the urban environment through case studies. Also intends to examine the existing case of the Ring Road Junction in Vijayawada and propose a soundscape strategy that can be implemented to create a less noisy junction. The paper concludes by proposing a strategy for designing an urban soundscape.