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Urban Noise Pollution and Solutions

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Dr. David Montes-González

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INTERRA, Department of Applied Physics, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain
Interests: road traffic noise; environmental noise; noise measurement procedure; urban noise perception; urban planning; stategic noise mapping; action plans; acoustic characterization of materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Guillermo Rey Gozalo

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INTERRA, Department of Applied Physics, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain
Interests: urban noise; environmental acoustics; noise mapping; urban planning; soundscape; sound perception; acoustic assessment; bioacoustics; acoustic characterization of recycled materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Noise pollution in urban environments is a major issue at present due to its impact on the quality of the life and health of citizens. Transport infrastructures are the main causes of noise in cities, with road traffic noise representing the main source due to its presence in the streets of residential areas. In order to make the well-being of the population compatible with the need for the mobility of people and goods, it is essential to design and implement appropriate solutions for each specific scenario. Action plans related to noise mitigation measures and the design of urban green spaces, as well as urban planning of cities including noise as a main concern, can contribute to reducing the impact of citizens' exposure to this pollutant.

This Special Issue, “Urban Noise Pollution and Solutions”, provides a framework for scientific discussion on this environmental problem and the different approaches that can be taken to design effective solutions. Researchers are invited to submit original papers dealing with the following topics: noise pollution in urban areas; methodologies for the assessment of urban noise; citizens' perception of urban noise; design of acoustic solutions for urban noise mitigation; urban planning as a tool for environmental noise management in cities; and green areas in urban spaces for the improvement of people's well-being.

Dr. David Montes-González
Prof. Dr. Guillermo Rey Gozalo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

urban noise pollution
transport infrastructures
urban noise perception
health impact
strategic nosie mapping
action plans

Published Papers (2 papers)

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11 pages, 10541 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Bird Dawn Chorus Strength of an Urban Soundscape and Its Potential to Assess Urban Green Spaces

by Paul Devos

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 7002; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15087002 - 21 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1998

Abstract

Green areas in urban environments, such as urban parks and urban gardens, are known to provide benefits called “ecosystem services” to the urban community. Green recreational spaces offer opportunities for physical activity, leading to improved physical and mental health of residents. For this reason, the presence and the quality of such areas has to be considered and promoted in sustainable urban planning, especially in the context of contributing to the achievement sustainable cities. As the biodiversity of an area is an indication of its quality, soundecological indicators have been used to assess the biodiversity in natural areas. Due to the presence of anthropogenic sounds in urban areas, the use of these indicators to determine the quality of urban areas can be questioned. However, the vocal activity of collectively singing birds during the dawn chorus contributes to the urban soundscape, and results in a prominent biophonic component of this soundscape, as can be clearly seen in its yearly pattern. The use of soundecological indicators through the estimation of the Bird Dawn Chorus Strength has the potential to provide a means of assessing the quality of urban green spaces. To demonstrate this potential, a pilot study is presented here on the annual temporal scale of the soundscape of a typical urban green space. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Noise Pollution and Solutions)

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17 pages, 887 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adjusted Controlled Pass-By (CPB) Method for Urban Road Traffic Noise Assessment

by Ricardo Moreno, Francesco Bianco, Stefano Carpita, Alessandro Monticelli, Luca Fredianelli and Gaetano Licitra

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5340; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065340 - 17 Mar 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1609

Abstract

Noise associated with road infrastructure is a prominent problem in environmental acoustics, and its implications with respect to human health are well documented. Objective and repeatable methodologies are necessary for testing the efficacy of sustainable noise mitigation methods such as low noise emission pavement. The Controlled Pass-By (CPB) method is used to measure the sound generated by passing vehicles. Despite its popularity, the applicability of CPB is compromised in urban contexts, as its results depend on test site conditions, and slight changes in the experimental setup can compromise repeatability. Moreover, physical conditions, reduced space, and urban elements risk confine its use to only experimental road sites. In addition, vehicle speed represents a relevant factor that further contributes to the method’s inherent instability. The present paper aims to extend the applicable range of this method and to provide more reliable results by proposing an adjusted CPB method. Furthermore, CPB metrics such as

L_{A m a x}

do not consider the travelling speed of the vehicle under investigation. Our proposed method can yield an alternative metric that takes into account the duration of the noise event. A hypothetical urban case is investigated, and a signal processing pipeline is developed to properly characterize the resulting data. Speed cushions, manhole covers, and other spurious effects not related to the pass-by sound emissions of ordinary vehicles are pinpointed as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Noise Pollution and Solutions)

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