One potentially effective solution to improving tranquillity, is to mask traffic noise or distract attention with an attractive water sound. A previous experiment has demonstrated that water generated sounds have the potential to improve the perceived tranquillity of gardens blighted by noise. A further study has demonstrated that litter has the potential to degrade an environment such that the tranquillity rating drops on average by one scale point. This bi-modal relationship is supported by work recently carried out by SCANLab at the University of Sheffield, using fMRI neuro-imaging techniques. This study demonstrated for the first time the significant differences in effective connectivity between areas of the brain, namely the auditory cortex and the medial pre-frontal cortex, under tranquil and non-tranquil conditions. Specifically the medial pre-frontal cortex receives significantly enhanced contributions from the auditory cortex when presented with a tranquil visual scene compared with non-tranquil visual stimuli. Mapping tranquillity The first method of mapping tranquillity was developed by Simon Rendel of ASH Consulting for a Department of Transport study in 1991. This led to the production of a set of Tranquil Area maps covering England, produced by Rendel and ASH Consulting and published by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the former Countryside Commission. In these maps tranquil areas were defined as places sufficiently far from the visual or noise intrusion of development or traffic to be considered unspoilt by urban influences. More sophisticated mapping techniques are now available following work by researchers at Northumbria University, Newcastle University, and CPRE. Maps have been produced for the whole of England that show the tranquillity score of Ordnance Survey Grid derived 500mx500m squares. The tranquillity rating for these is based on 44 different factors that add to or detract from people’s feelings of tranquillity. These factors were defined following extensive public consultations. The new methodology uses advanced modelling techniques to look at the diffusion of the impact of these factors over distance, taking into account the terrain of the land. For example, the tranquillity increases gradually the further one is from a busy road, but increases more sharply if the road is hidden in a cutting. The mapping process was developed by Northumbria and Newcastle Universities. The dark green areas represent those with the highest composite tranquillity score; dark red areas have the lowest composite tranquillity score (i.e., are least tranquil). Stimuli with positive impacts on tranquillity a natural landscape, including