Abstract
In the Macao Peninsula, the high population density (49,763 inhabitants/km2) and the lack of control over the number of vehicles (460 vehicles/km) have led to an increase in urban pollution. To provide useful information to local government and urban planners, this paper investigates the spatial distribution of traffic noise in the Macao Peninsula. The interactions among urban form, traffic flow and traffic noise are addressed. Considering the spatial nature of urban geometry and traffic, a high-resolution GIS-based traffic noise model system is applied. Results indicate that the Macao Peninsula has fallen into a situation of serious traffic noise pollution. About 60% of traffic noise levels along the major pedestrian sidewalks in the evening peak hour exceed the National Standard of 70 dB(A) in China. In particular, about 21% of traffic noise levels along the pedestrian sidewalks are above the National Standard by 5 dB(A). Noticeably, the high pedestrian exposure to traffic noise in the historical urban area reduces the comfort of tourists walking in the historic centre and is ruining the reputation of the area as a World Cultural Heritage site.
Highlights
Traffic noise is an important environmental health problem affecting the health and wellbeing of the people exposed
The weighted average traffic noise level in each urban area is calculated by a fraction, in which the numerator is the summation of weighted traffic noise values of all receptor points in the urban area and the denominator is the summation of the length of all the sidewalk sections related to these receptor points
About 21% of traffic noise levels along the major pedestrian sidewalks are above the National Standard by 5 dB(A)
Summary
Traffic noise is an important environmental health problem affecting the health and wellbeing of the people exposed. Traffic noise modeling in urban areas with complex traffic conditions and urban geometries requires processing a large amount of complex geographically referenced data such as street configuration, road gradient, road surface nature, and emission sources. A number of researchers have used the integrated GIS traffic noise prediction models to estimate the level of noise in urban areas [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16]. This paper applies a GIS-based traffic noise model system to investigate the influences of existing urban forms on vehicle transport and pedestrian exposure to traffic noise in the Macao Peninsula.
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