For some, living in a city is a loud, unpleasant babble of intrusive noise. For others, it is a soundscape of calming tones that lift the spirits and brighten the day.. Now a three-year British research project, Positive Soundscapes, is building a database of noises that people say improve their environment; it will translate the findings into design principles for architects. Agreeable sounds, the scientists find, include: car tires on wet, bumpy asphalt; the distant roar of a highway overpass; the rumble of a surface train; a baby laughing; skateboarders practising in underground car parks; an orchestra tuning up. Sounds are not judged solely on volume. "The frequency [pitch] of a noise is a huge issue," says team leader Bill Davies of Manchester's Salford University. "A high-pitched sound is very unpleasant even if it is very quiet, like the whine of a wasp trapped in a room, while a sound like a bass coming through the wall of a nightclub, which is loud but low, can be very soothing."