England: tranquillity maps

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Friday, October 27, 2006

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What a lovely idea - the BBC reported recently that the Campaign to Protect Rural England has produced detailed national and regional "tranquillity maps" covering all parts of England.

The CPRE explained that the researchers they commissioned to help compile the maps "used a nationwide survey to test what tranquillity means to people and their perceptions of what factors were most likely to add to and to detract from their sense of experiencing tranquillity when they visited the countryside. Secondly, using a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) model, they associated the survey information with a range of national datasets and took account of topography to create a map showing how likely each locality was to make people feel tranquil."

What tranquillity is – the top 10 survey responses

Seeing a natural landscape
Hearing birdsong
Hearing peace and quiet
Seeing natural looking woodland
Seeing the stars at night
Seeing streams
Seeing the sea
Hearing natural sounds
Hearing wildlife
Hearing running water.

What tranquillity is not – the top 10 survey responses

Hearing constant noise from cars, lorries and/or motorbikes
Seeing lots of people
Seeing urban development
Seeing overhead light pollution
Hearing lots of people
Seeing low flying aircraft
Hearing low flying aircraft
Seeing power lines
Seeing towns and cities
Seeing roads.

You can see the maps, check your area's local tranquillity scores and read two reports on the mapping methodology and the campaign to save tranquil places. The CPRE are trying to promote the protection of tranquillity in the face of increasing urbanisation - more power to them, I say.

They're even selling a CD of tranquil sounds (MP3 samples are on their site, with recordings of birdsong, wind, waves etc to help soothe you - though I must say the sound of buzzing bees one is more likely to make me want to run and hide!), recorded with the help of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society.

It would be ironic if the tranquillity maps enabled people to rush to their nearby top tranquillity spots to enjoy the peace and quiet - thus increasing items 1, 2 and 5 of the "what tranquillity is not" list! Let's hope not...

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