Monday June 26, 2017
Fight against the big city noise
New York turns the volume control
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New York is one of the noisiest cities in the world. Scientists are now tackling the problem in search of a solution. Using the latest technology, they want to create a noise map and reduce the volume.
New York is known as “the city that never sleeps” – to the chagrin of many residents, however, this is often to be taken literally. Horns, fire brigade sirens, jackhammers and people who have to scream to make themselves heard in the midst of all the noise: New York is one of the loudest cities in the world. “Sometimes it’s like living in the middle of a football stadium,” sighs filmmaker Gregory Orr, who has lived in the city for 19 years. Now scientists have taken on the noise pollution. With new technologies, they hope to be able to reduce the volume.
“Sounds of New York City” is the name of the joint project by researchers from New York University, the city administration and residents. Your plan is to first record the full range of sounds from the city of 8.5 million people. Computers are supposed to analyze the recordings and finally automatically identify the respective source of noise. With their help, the authorities can take quick and targeted action against the noise pollution.
Heart problems, hearing loss, and high blood pressure
By the end of the year, 100 small recording stations are to be installed across the city. The first are already in operation on the university campus, and more are currently being set up in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The devices never record more than ten seconds at a time, in order not to be suspected of being misused as listening stations. Citizens will also use an app to help complete the map of noise pollution in their city.
Noise is the most common reason people complain to the city’s hotline, says Juan Bello, who heads the project. “Many studies show that noise has an enormous impact on health – both in the short and long term,” explains Bello. According to him, the constant high level of noise can lead to heart problems, hearing loss and high blood pressure. If children are exposed to too much noise, they learn less well.
In the Manhattan district, the high-rise canyons add to the background noise. “Many of the noises that one is exposed to in New York would be less penetrative elsewhere. This is due to the spatial structure of the city,” says scientist Bello.
The “perfect laboratory”
“Sounds of New York City” is set to run for five years and has a budget of $ 4.6 million. The authorities are responsible for the quick consequences of the noise analysis: Today it takes about five to six days for one of the 50 noise inspectors in New York to investigate a complaint, says Bello. During this time, however, the problem often resolved itself.
Arline Bronzaft, professor emeritus for environmental psychology, is pleased that the authorities are finally taking the noise pollution in the city seriously. For many years they would have downplayed the consequences of noise pollution. Bronzaft’s research has shown that the high level of noise affects people’s behavior. “New Yorkers speak loudly because they have to compete with the noise,” she says.
New York is not the only noisy city in the world, says Bello. But it is a “perfect laboratory” to try out solutions that could then be adopted by other cities around the world.
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