Minimizing unavoidable construction noise impacts in urban environments using soundscape masking effects

Abstract

Construction activities in urban environments often generate unavoidable noise impacts that can adversely affect the well-being of a surrounding community. Traditional noise mitigation strategies focus on reducing noise emissions, which may not be entirely feasible due to the nature of construction activities. It is often the case that construction activity needs to be undertaken during evening and night periods due to the need to occupy a road, a rail corridor, or to facilitate utility service provider requirements to work during low demand periods. This, coupled with the increased community sensitivity at night, is then exacerbated by diminishing background noise levels as daytime human activity dissipates. This paper presents an approach for minimizing the adverse effects of residual construction noise by leveraging the masking effects of artificially generated soundscapes to counteract this existing phenomenon. We identify possible sound and level combinations that effectively mask construction noise without creating additional disturbance. A case study compares the impacts of construction noise with and without the implementation of soundscapes to evaluate the effectiveness. The study explores the compatibility of integrating loudspeakers onto lighting-towers, which are already a mandatory requirement for evening and night construction works, to distribute the soundscape to surrounding noise sensitive receivers.