So what exactly do people want to hear in an urban environment?
那在城市环境中，人们到底想听到什么样的声音呢？
Some recent interdisciplinary research has come out with results that at first sight seem contradictory
最近的一些跨学科研究结果初看似乎是矛盾的，
a city needs to have a sense of activity, so it needs to be lively,
一个城市需要有活力，因此它需要热闹起来，
with sounds like the clack of high heels on a pavement or the hiss of a coffee machine,
有着高跟鞋碰撞路面的响声，或是咖啡机的嘶嘶声，
but these mustn't be too intrusive, because at the same time we need to be able to relax.
但是这些声音又不能太过扰人，因为同时我们还需要能放松下来。
One of the major problems in achieving this will be getting architects and town planners to use the research.
实现这一目标的一个主要问题是要让建筑师和城市规划者采用这方面的研究。
Apart from studying the basics of acoustics, these people receive very little training in this area.
除了学习一些声学的基本知识，这些人在这方面受到的培训非常少。
But in fact they should be regarding sound as an opportunity to add to the experience of urban living,
但是事实上他们应该把声音当做是一个丰富城市生活体验的机会，
whereas at present they tend to see it as something to be avoided or reduced as far as possible,
而现在他们只将声音视为一种要尽量避免或减少的东西，
or something that's just a job for engineers like the street drainage system.
或者就像街道排水系统一样，只是工程师要做的工作而已。
What's needed is for noise in cities to be regarded as an aesthetic quality, as something that has the qualities of an art form.
我们需要的是将城市噪声看做一种美学品质，一种有着艺术品质的东西。
If we acknowledge this, then we urgently need to know what governs it and how designers can work with it.
认识到这一点后，我们急切地需要知道是什么影响着声音，以及设计者们该如何与声音合作。
We need to develop a complex understanding of many factors.
我们要具备对很多因素的综合理解。
What is the relationship between sound and culture?
声音与文化有什么关系？
What can we learn from disciplines such as psychology about the way that sound interacts with human development and social relationships,
我们能从某些相关学科中学到什么？比如研究声音与人类发展、社会关系的相互作用方式，
and the way that sound affects our thought and feelings?
以及声音如何影响人类思维和感觉的心理学。
Can we learn anything from physics about the nature of sound itself?
我们能从有关声音性质的物理学中学到什么吗？
Today's powerful technologies can also help us.
今时今日强大的科技也能帮助到我们。
To show us their ideas and help us to imagine the effect their buildings will have,
建筑师和城市规划者们已经使用虚拟现实技术来为我们展示他们的想法，
architects and town planners already use virtual reality - but these programs are silent.
帮助我们想象他们的建筑效果，但是那些项目都是无声的。
In the future such programs could use realistic sounds, meaning that soundscapes could be explored before being built.
未来，这样的项目可以使用实景音效，也就是说在建造之前就可以一窥其声景。
So hopefully, using the best technology we can lay our hands on, the city of the future will be a pleasure to the ears as well as the eyes.
所以，希望通过使用能触及的最好的技术，未来的城市将会提供眼与耳的双重享受。