ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes urban spaces was exposed in one of Cresson's first research reports edited by Grégoire Chelkoff and entitled Entendre les espaces publics, 'Hearing Public Spaces'. It presentes a comparative study that considered eight different public spaces, squares, streets, parks, etc. in several cities. The analysis started with a survey, flanked by acoustic measurements. In each case, the information was ordered according to four topics: perception and aural qualification of the site, spatial and phonic delimitations, temporality and memory, interaction with people. Another prominent figure in the field of acoustic environment investigations is Pierre Mariétan. In L'environnement sonore, the first of a series of texts drawn up by Mariétan and his collaborators, the basics of their methods to analyze and represent the sound environment were assembled, with texts from conferences held all over the world in the previous years and instructions as to how to listen to the surrounding environment.
