What is QPI Quiet Residence and Community Certification?
Research has shown that people often prioritize peace and quiet when looking for a place to live. A study conducted by the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that noise was the most frequently mentioned environmental stressor among participants, with over 80% of respondents indicating that they were affected by noise in their daily lives. Another study, published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, found that people consistently rated quiet environments as more desirable than noisy ones. Additionally, a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors found that peace and quiet was the second most important factor, behind safety, that people considered when purchasing a home.
It is proven that people desire to reside in a quiet neighborhood. However, potential customers can never be sure if a place truly offers a quiet living experience.
A QPI Quiet Residence and Community Certification assures potential and existing residents of a quiet experience when living at a QPI certified property.
What are the benefits of this certification?
QPI Quiet Residence and Community Certification will help you:
Gain international recognition
Differentiate your property from competition
Charge a premium for offering quiet as a valuable resource
Increase value of the property
Improve physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of residents
Encourage residents, especially children, to listen to sounds of nature and silence
Enable residents to meet, live and socialize with patrons who love quiet
Increase awareness for the need of people and wildlife to experience quiet
Preserve quiet and be a part of QPI’s mission and community to save quiet worldwide
What will I get when my property gets certified?
QPI Quiet Residence and Community Certification will get you:
QPI Quiet Residence and Community digital certificate and physical plaque (for Gold and Platinum Members only)
Marketing material, such as, QPI Quiet Residence and Community website badge, QPI logo, QR Code etc, that brings a guest to QPI webpage where they can learn more about the assessment and award
Post on QPI Social Media
Listing on QPI Quiet Places Map that will help people find your Quiet Residence and Community
Listing on QPI Quiet Residence and Community website
Listing on QPI Partner websites (If eligible)
Customer leads via QPI website and partner websites
Assistance from QPI to maintain the certification
Mention in QPI international media organic coverages
What is the criteria to qualify?
To achieve QPI Quiet Residence and Community certification, potential Quiet Residences and Communities are assessed against the following criteria and thresholds:
A narrative is provided by the service provider showing clear demonstration in a commitment to quiet, understands the benefits, and wishes to share this with their customers.
External sources of noise such as vehicles, mechanical equipment, landscaping, boats, etc. are almost non-existent and if they exist are not more than 45 decibels for more than 8 instances during the day and no instances during sleeping hours.
Natural sound must dominate human-made sound.
What do the different levels of QPI Quiet Residence and Community certification mean?
Silver Level: Acknowledged by Quiet Parks International as a quiet area without on-site testing, relying heavily on anecdotal and narrative evidence of quiet with basic audio recordings.
Gold Level: Certified by Quiet Parks International as a quiet area with on-site testing indicating that thresholds are nominally achieved.
Platinum Level: Certified by Quiet Parks International as a quiet area with on-site testing indicating that thresholds are exceedingly achieved beyond our listed criteria.
How is QPI Quiet Residence and Community selected?
Site selection for Quiet Residence and Community candidates is contingent on a number of factors which are addressed by a property representative during initial selection communication and by a Quiet Parks Assessor or local field recordist familiar with the region during on-site assessment.
Before site visitation and data collection, potential Quiet Residences and Communities are preliminarily assessed based on a number of data indicators, including but not limited to the following:
Dwellings and property boundaries for QR&C certification are designated by a property representative prior to on-site assessment.
Proximity to neighboring residential areas, industrial zones, transportation corridors, as well as airplane and watercraft traffic.
The extent that other recreational activities such as outdoor/indoor amenities, recreational vehicle usage, landscaping, or other activities that may create noise throughout the property and surrounding areas.
Extent of amenities that support or foster quiet within and/or around project perimeter.
Mechanical equipment (HVAC, generators), terrain, topography, and other natural features that may affect how noise travels throughout and within the property.
Data collected by land management agencies or other environmental research such as soundscape studies, visitation, high-use areas, urban noise monitoring, local ordinance, guest reviews, etc.
Can you share some examples of QPI Certified Quiet Residence and Community?
Click here for examples from across the globe of QPI Certified Quiet Residences and Communities.