A renewed perception of living environments after restrictions due to pandemic in Italy

Abstract The rapid habitual changes induced by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic first and the end of the most restrictive phase coinciding with the lock-down later resulted in significant changes, also occurred at an environmental level and, specifically, with regard to the perception of the soundscape in all European countries. The seek for knowledge underlying the research illustrated in this article concerned whether or not the perception of the soundscape following the almost normal resumption of daily activities had returned to that of the period before the restrictions came into force. This article illustrates how an online questionnaire structured in 16 questions was designed and administered to a sample of Italian citizens, in order to understand whether and how the habits of the respondents had changed in the three reference time periods (before the pandemic spread, the period marked by lock-down or other restrictions in early 2020 and the period afterwards) and their perception of the perceived soundscape of the place where they spend most of their days. A total of around 70 questionnaires distributed throughout Italy were collected and analysed. The results obtained, through the use of descriptive statistical analyses and logistic models, are also presented in this article.