A nonlinear mixed model for the assessment of traffic noise levels in urban areas

Abstract

Quantification of traffic noise levels in urban areas can be especially useful for environmental and public health policies. A statistical model is proposed here for this quantification in small urban areas. The model is nonlinear and mixed, with two components: a fixed component for traffic noise emission (source effect) and a random component for assessing traffic noise propagation. The proposed model requires only sample data and has been used to estimate basic noise indicators established in European standards. A composite indicator, the Lden indicator, has been computed and used to draw up a noise ranking of urban areas. The proposed approach is applied to the city of Leganes (Spain).