The Catalogue of Soundscape Interventions (CSI): A global repository for advancing soundscape design and inclusive urban acoustic environments

The Catalogue of Soundscape Interventions (CSI) project is a pioneering initiative aimed at systematically documenting and categorizing real-world soundscape interventions to enhance the design, planning, and management of urban acoustic environments. By leveraging an online platform, CSI provides a comprehensive repository of soundscape practices implemented across diverse urban contexts, offering valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers. A key outcome of the project is the development of an eight-dimensional taxonomy that classifies interventions based on critical aspects such as intervention scale, public involvement, and strategic approaches, thus facilitating the creation of practical design toolkits. Findings from the CSI project highlight the growing recognition of soundscape design in urban planning, yet they also reveal significant gaps in empirical evidence, community engagement, and the standardization of best practices. Looking ahead, the project aims to address these gaps by expanding its focus to under-represented regions of the world, where soundscape interventions remain largely undocumented. The next phase will involve targeted screening efforts to identify and showcase new soundscape projects from diverse socio-cultural and environmental contexts, fostering a more inclusive and globally representative soundscape knowledge base. By doing so, CSI aspires to bridge the gap between research and practice, contributing to a more sustainable and human-centered approach to urban soundscape management.

Funding information: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the HEAD-Genuit Foundation for funding the project CSI (P-20/05-W).