Acoustic environments and Soundscapes in London during the Spring 2020 Lockdown

Abstract

Three studies in London are presented about the changes of the acoustic environment and its perception, triggered by the first lockdown measures imposed during Spring 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The first study compared short-term binaural recordings performed pre- and during-lockdown at 11 public locations. Results revealed the decreases in sound levels varied from 1.2 to 10.7 dB(A) depending on the urban setting type. The second study made use of soundscape data gathered from users on site for the pre-lockdown survey to construct a model to predict how the lockdown soundscapes of the same locations (which were impossible to assess due to lack of people) would be experienced. A further validation listening experiment confirmed that lowering levels was not always followed up by improved experience. The third study looked at changes in noise complaints reported by residents to local authorities across the London boroughs and highlighted an increase of 47.5%, with neighborhood noise being the most relevant category. Taken together, the results from these studies demonstrate reduced urban activity leads to uneven sound level reduction across urban spaces and that significant sound level reductions do not universally result in improvements to the soundscape, whether in public spaces or at home.