Sensory Heritage Is Vital for Sustainable Cities: A Case Study of Soundscape and Smellscape at Wong Tai Sin

PerMagnus Lindborg (), Lok Him Lam, Yui Chung Kam and Ran Yue
Additional contact information
PerMagnus Lindborg: School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Lok Him Lam: Division of Public Policy, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
Yui Chung Kam: Independent Researcher, Hong Kong, China
Ran Yue: School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-35

Abstract: Sensory heritage encompasses culturally valued practices, rituals, and everyday activities experienced through the senses. While sight often dominates, hearing and smelling are generally more immersive and pervasive. Soundscape research is a well-established field within urban studies; however, smellscape remains insufficiently recognised. This study is part of Multimodal Hong Kong, a project aimed at documenting sensory cultural heritage across the city by capturing the complex interplay between soundscape, smellscape, urban experiences, everyday activities, and memory. We investigated the multisensory environment at Wong Tai Sin Temple through acoustic measurements and perceptual ratings of soundscape and smellscape across 197 locations within and around the site. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with visitors (N = 54, 15,015 words of transcript), which were analysed using content analysis and natural language processing. The results indicate that elevated noise levels mainly arise from human voices and pipe music within the temple compound, as well as traffic noise in the surrounding area. The smell of incense dominates near the temple altars, whereas natural, grassy odours prevail in the adjacent park. Interview responses confirm that incense burning constitutes a traditional religious practice forming a distinctive olfactory marker for Chinese temples, but it is also perceived as having adverse health implications. This study contributes to the growing body of sensory heritage research, underscoring the importance of both soundscape and smellscape in fostering culturally inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable urban environments.

Keywords: sensory heritage; soundscape; smellscape; environment; sustainability; urban studies; memory; Chinese temple; Hong Kong (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7564/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7564/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7564-:d:1729799

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().