What does quiet mean to you?
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The document discusses the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on ambient noise levels and explores the concept of quiet in acoustic environments. It highlights initiatives like noise mapping, soundwalking, and the use of technology in assessing and managing noise levels for property decisions. The potential for commercial applications of noise data and the role of sonic activism in governance frameworks are also addressed.
What does quiet mean to you?
- 1. What does quiet mean to you? James Boland (1) and Helen Farley (2) (1)Acoustic Engineering Services Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand (2)University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia
- 2. COVID-19 lockdowns or “anthropauses” have caused temporary but measurable reductions in ambient noise levels across many cities. The corresponding effect on the population has not yet been fully investigated. We experienced a very noticeable difference…even without measurement, it was clear that the mix had changed. Would you undertake residual noise measurements in Queenstown at the moment, when? Given these changes have happened, could it even be possible to influence the mix permanently? WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE MOMENT?
- 3. SONIC HISTORIANS, SONIC ACTIVISM?
- 4. Soundwalking • Walk and focus on listening to the environment. • Record your walk for sharing raw or discussion and cataloguing, or sometimes they are modified to include a music or spoken word accompaniment. World Forum for Acoustic Ecology • Composers, sound artists, researchers, teachers. • Online community, events, Soundscape journal. WHAT IS QUIET TO YOU?
- 5. The absence of noise or at least what is there when noise is not dominant. Stop Making Sense... • Same music in two different contexts… • Two different noises in the same context… WHAT IS QUIET TO YOU?
- 6. QUIET AS A COMMODITY?
- 7. Noise mapping… European Environmental Agency – Quiet space identification guide. Defining the Soundscape (ISO 12913) and preparing a framework for planning for quiet. Not just an issue for Governments to manage. The large data sets created by noise mapping studies are also valuable commodities which can be adapted for markets by the commercial sector, and commercial applications are on their way… QUIET AS A COMMODITY?
- 8. Transport noise maps developed by a consulting firm to provide noise-based property reports to assist home buyers to make decisions about property purchases. Buyers spend a relatively short time at the property before buying it. How does the area around the home sound? What is the mix? Hush City (app-based survey response study), where people in Berlin ranked the sounds that contributed to their sense of quiet. From before…literature proposes the construct of “annoyance” is multi- dimensional, depends on our perception of control over the noise and our history of personal responses. WHERE DO I WANT TO LIVE?
- 9. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used by Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency) in unattended noise loggers to quantify single vehicle noise (heavy vehicle engine compression braking) to substantiate and investigate complaints they receive along their network. TECHNOLOGY IN APPLICATION…
- 10. Low-cost sensor networks are becoming more common, affordable physical computing prototyping platforms and learning resources. Dynamap project – Rome and Milan real-time noise mapping. GIS-based web mapping. Local Council in NZ is installing vibration sensors on their water reticulation networks to listen for leaks. TECHNOLOGY...
- 11. Could initiatives driven by the sonic activists and the commercial sector provide ideas for the early frameworks around governance? House purchasing for instance… WHAT COMES NEXT?
- 12. Thankyou for listening… James Boland +64 21 125 0422 [email protected] Useful link: Institute of Acoustics - Soundscapes Webinar 22 March - https://www.ioa.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=612
Editor's Notes
- #2: The Dumbles, near the village of Lambley, Nottinghamshire, UK. Filmed and recorded around dawn and early morning, Dallas Simpson.
- #3: Think of the Soundscape in the way a recording engineer might think about a song. The mix. Green-tape reduction has accompanied the economic rebuild efforts as councils and governments try to restart their economies after the lockdowns, with noise limits waived and activity given priority over amenity in some cases (Smith 2020).
- #4: Great example of capturing the sonic history of a city.
- #5: David Byrne from Talking Heads says in his book “How Music Works” – Same piece of music played in two different contexts, one could be intrusive and annoying, and in the other you may even find yourself dancing to it…
- #6: David Byrne from Talking Heads says in his book “How Music Works” – Same piece of music played in two different contexts, one could be intrusive and annoying, and in the other you may even find yourself dancing to it…
- #7: Dark Sky Reserves New Zealand National Parks -
- #8: Noise mapping - a way to understand the disease burden. The impact of a health problem as measured by financial cost or mortality, given as quality adjusted life years. - Budgeting for retroactive interventions. - Protect quiet spaces.
- #9: Hush City – Birds, voices, wind, nature. From before when I talked about what quiet means to us…
- #10: Planning for overall noise levels is important however the noise from individual noisey vehicles causes complaints. Agreed algorithm from the National Transport Commission of Australia. Raspberry Pi based system that listens, measures and takes photographs.
- #11: Dynamap – Dynamic Acoustic Mapping - Harmonica index - Overall noise level with a correction for peak noise.
- #12: Buyers are very picky…even though it is a sellers’ market at the moment.. House purchasing – Low-cost sensor networks using AI to measure the noise levels and soundscape mix. GIS based web maps that people can consume.