Abstract
Abstract In this paper, we explore a statistical relationship between green areas and traffic-related vehicle noise. A medium-sized Brazilian city was selected as the sampling area. This area was divided into 25 subareas and for each subarea a group of descriptors was developed. The parameters considered were the areas occupied by green spaces and the noise pollution index generated by vehicular traffic during day and night periods. The green areas were quantified by digital processing of satellite images. The vehicular traffic noise was measured directly at the site and analysed by the noise pollution index (Lnp), the equivalent sound level (LAeq) and the day/night sound level (Ldn). In order to establish the statistical relationship between noise descriptors and green areas, Pearson's linear correlation coefficient (r) was used. Two analysis types were developed: a generalised one, including the 25 subareas; and a specific one, classifying the subareas into clusters. The first analysis indicated a trend to a medium negative correlation between green areas and noise pollution day index (Lnpd), noise pollution night index (Lnpn) and Ldn (r= -0.577, -0.484, -0.373). In the second analysis, the subarea cluster 3 is considered, which includes areas with clinics and educational institutions. This correlation was classified as high negative (r= -0.729, -0.721, -0.541). The results show indexes with high negative correlation, statistically meaning that there is an inverse proportional relationship between green areas and noise pollution.
Highlights
The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers noise pollution as one of the three ecological priorities in the fight against environmental contamination
Previous studies explored the usefulness of green areas in noise mitigation revealing that: (a) green spaces help minimise factors affecting health, such as traffic noise (PESCHARDT; STIGSDOTTER; SCHIPPERRIJN, 2016); (b) there is noise reduction when restricting vehicle access to parks (COHEN; POTCHTER; SCHNELL, 2014); and (c) vegetation contributes to soundscape perception (BRAMBILLA et al, 2013)
In which the study area was divided into 25 subareas, the coefficients pointed out a tendency of a medium negative correlation
Summary
The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers noise pollution as one of the three ecological priorities in the fight against environmental contamination. Noise generated by vehicle traffic increases parallel to motorisation and its effects are being studied prioritising sectors such as health and transportation (CAI et al, 2017). This noise class is considered to be the greatest generator of acoustic pollution in the urban environment (ASCARIet al., 2015) and it may cause some diseases in the population (ONGEL; SEZGIN, 2016). Previous studies explored the usefulness of green areas in noise mitigation revealing that:. Despite all the efforts and relevant results of these studies, there is still a lack of tools to support the extent of the effect of green areas in controlling noise pollution
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