Impacts of the covid lockdown on the soundscape of an urban area: noise, psychoacoustic metrics and ecoacoustic indices

Abstract

Urban noise is both a serious environmental pollutant affecting ecological systems, and a major public health issue impacting millions of people worldwide. Noise levels are increasing and, without action, will lead to significant disruption of ecosystem services and a multitude of health effects such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, hearing impairment, preterm births, decreased cognitive performance, sleep disturbance, annoyance, anxiety and depression. The covid pandemic presented a unique opportunity to study the soundscape of cities with reduced human activity, especially the decreased use of motor vehicles, a primary source of urban noise. In this paper, we compare noise metrics, psychoacoustic indices and ecoacoustic indices derived from urban transect walks undertaken during (2020) and after (2022) the covid lockdowns in Southampton, UK. In this way, we assess not only noise levels, but also changes to the quality of the urban soundscape. Our aim is to understand the "art of the possible" in improving the soundscapes of active cities, and to help better inform urban planners and health practitioners in tackling a serious yet often hidden environmental crisis.