Nowadays, urban design without green spaces is inconceivable. Environmental, social, and economic benefits generated by green spaces are essential to maintain the health and quality of life of the population and to control pollution. Therefore, urban planners and city leaders should know the interactions between the features of green spaces, the sociodemographic characteristics of users, and the type of use. In addition, in some studies, noise was found to be an essential factor in the perception of these green spaces. For this purpose, surveys and sound measurements were carried out simultaneously in different locations of the main green spaces of Cáceres city. The results of this study show that noise satisfaction has the greatest significant relationship with overall satisfaction with green spaces. Different features, including satisfaction with the absence of noise, can explain 71.4% of the overall satisfaction. Road traffic is the most annoying sound source, but the degree of noise annoyance is lower than that estimated for other urban environments with similar sound levels. Walking and talking activities, emotions of fear and irritability, and interruptions to conversation are most often affected by noise in these urban environments. Another conclusion obtained is that the highest significant correlation coefficients are between noise perception by users and both the equivalent continuous linear weighted sound level and sharpness. Lastly, the green-space use determines differences and significant relationships with the sociodemographic characteristics. Also, the places in green spaces where people frequently perform walking and relaxation activities have the lowest sound levels. Therefore, noise is a statistically relevant factor to be considered in the design of green spaces. © ۲۰۱۷ Published by Elsevier B.V. Keywords: Urban green spaces Noise annoyance Noise effects Noise perception Acoustic environment Urban planning.

Introduction

In the last decades, there has been a clear trend toward the depopulation of rural areas and increasing concentration of human beings in cities. Currently 57% of the population live in agglomerations having populations in excess of 300,000 people, and it is estimated that by the year 2030, 62% of the global population will live in cities (UN, 2014). The rapid growth of cities has brought social, economic, and environmental challenges (EC, 2000). Five objectives in the environmental dimension have been defined for a European vision of tomorrow’s cities: mitigate and adapt to climate change; protect, restore, and enhance biodiversity and ecosystems; reduce pollution; manage natural materials resources sustainably and prevent waste; and protect, preserve, and manage water resources (RFSC, 2016). Populations are living in environments with increasing pollution, intense heat, habitat loss, declining biodiversity, and noise (EEA, 2014, 2016; IEAGHG, 2016; RFSC, 2016). Approximately seven million people died in 2012 due to exposure to air pollution (WHO, 2014), and 60,000 disability-adjusted life years are lost through ischaemic heart disease due to environmental noise (WHO, 2011). There is a critical need to find ways to reduce health risks and improve the wellbeing of citizens. Studies from numerous fields have analysed the benefits provided by urban green spaces in cities and they are related with three key values: social, economic, and environmental (Chiesura, 2011; Sander, 2015; Scopelliti et al., 2016; Szeremeta and Zannin, 2013). Urban green spaces play an important role from a social perspective by promoting physical activity, allowing rest or relaxation and increasing social interaction (Dadvand et al., 2016; Kaczynski et al., 2008; Maas et al., 2009; Peters et al., 2010). They therefore help to facilitate active lifestyles and emotions of restoration while reducing stress and social isolation in urban environments (Coombes et al., 2010; Grahn and Stigsdotter, 2003, 2010; Jay and Schraml, 2009). Urban green spaces also benefit local residents and communities economically. Aesthetic and recreational values of urban green spaces increase the attractiveness of a city and promote it as a tourist destination, thus generating employment and revenue (Jim and Chen, 2006).