Soundwalk protocols and procedures are formally established in ISO Standard 12913; the intention is a general reproducibility of results and to be able to compare soundwalk data for different walks, and even to bring the experience to the lab where it can be further examined. In general standards themselves require a reasonable level of technical expertise to execute, may require resources not available to laypeople, or may not align with the needs of a project. This paper will examine the soundwalk as a tool adaptable for given purposes and draw from soundwalks to entertain some of the questions related to the human elements such as perception, preconceived notions on sound, and repeated walks. The use of soundwalks to develop community sound ordinances will also be discussed.