# The Soundscape Hackathon as a Methodology to Accelerate Co-Creation of the Urban Public Space
## 5 Discussion  
### Hackathon Outcomes  
The main goal of including creativity in the evaluation criteria was to promote outside-the-box thinking in generating creative ideas for more fitting soundscapes. A common thread in all presented interventions is the use of green elements, or more generally, elements from nature. Green spaces in particular are attractive for several reasons: they encourage social interaction, stimulate physical activity and give opportunities for mental restoration [50]. Moreover, the beneficial effect of green elements on the urban soundscape is well documented in literature, see for example [7; 51]. Although all presented interventions focus in some way on nature-related aspects, the four teams took a different conceptual approach. Team Noize Makers emphasized and improved existing elements, for instance bird sounds or a fountain in the background. Teams URCHI and Trio Akustiko added additional green elements, such as a dome overgrown with ivy (URCHI), or even an entire scene with hills and trees (Trio Akustiko). Three teams gave materialized support for the services the green provides: wind chimes or a fountain for relaxing sounds (URCHI, Trio Akustiko), a cafe for social interaction (Trio Akustiko), resting benches for mental restoration (Trio Akustiko, Immensive) or gym exercise equipment for stimulating physical activity (Immensive). One could consider the gym stand to be superfluous, since the park itself gives plenty of opportunities for performing similar excercises. However, these installations add the potential of social interaction to the physical stimulation, as it may function as an attraction point in the park. The presence of green elements is strongly related to the tranquility of a space. In general, three groups of people can be discerned based on how they attach meaning to the concept of tranquility. They either associate it with silence, natural sounds or social relationships [52]. Approaches that emphasize existing green elements (Noize Makers), or that involve adding new green elements (URCHI), address the need for natural sounds and to a lesser extent also the need for silence. Approaches that support the services for social interaction that the greenery provides (Immensive, Trio Akustiko), address the importance of social relationships. Although it is not required that all viewpoints on tranquility are covered in each urban place, it would be advantageous that all teams in a hackathon consider them. To this end, it is necessary to have a well balanced team with participants covering these different viewpoints. Theoretical soundness was included in the evaluation criteria in order to counterbalance creativity, as it should be physically feasible to implement those creative ideas in the urban scene. Additionally  
Figure 7: Sketch of the Boston intervention by team URCHI. they should make sense, in order to effectively increase the quality of the soundscape. All teams spent a considerable amount of effort to make their designs sound plausible. However, the extent to which the solutions could be implemented in real life varies considerably. Interventions such as those in New York City Hall Park (Noize Makers) are meant to be implemented on top of existing scenery, without physically altering the real environment, and could be relatively easily implemented. Other interventions, such as those at Potsdamer Platz (Trio Akustiko) or at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy greenway in Boston (URCHI) would require considerable landscaping efforts to realize. Moreover, they would require considerable changes to the original design in order to make sense acoustically because the acoustical screening effects are overestimated in the initial auralization.