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Using phone data to track noise pollution in the city

Using phone data to track noise pollution in the city

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Following previous blog posts highlighting the dire health and environmental impacts of urban noise pollution, strategies of tackling noise pollution in the city quickly became top priority of the city planners. In order to implement noise pollution strategies, the first step needed is to have sufficient data describing sources and concentration of the noise. Typical data collection method today tend to be expensive and complex, hence novel solutions that can cut back these costs are greatly welcomed by noise pollution researchers.

In recent times, researchers came up with the ingenious idea of utilising the good quality microphones built into the mobile phones most citizens carry on a daily basis. This allows researchers to not only tap in on a large pool of data collectors, it also saves immense cost in providing for additional equipment for data collecting.

However, several technical challenges are still to be considered for. Things such as unobtrusiveness and correctness of usage. Unobtrusiveness refers to how much extra effort the person tracking noise levels need to make when collecting data. This will not only affect the frequency of which the users have their microphones on and tracking, it will also affect their willingness to participate. Several users have raised the concern of mistrusting the data tracking application, fearing that their private conversations might be recorded.

As for correctness, it affects the quality of data collected. When developing the noise recording app, researchers have to consider the fact that most mobile phone’s microphones have built in noise cancelling functions to facilitate better conversations. This however is the opposite of what the data collectors want. As such, the app must be able to bypass such technology for a more accurate result. Users must also be educated on the proper ways of to record the noise level; phones must not be placed in a bag or in pockets, and the microphones should not be obstructed.

Although the use of mobile phones for tracking of noise data still poses several challenges, the potential of this method is great in terms of volume and ease of data collected.

References:

S. Santini, B. Ostermaier and R. Adelmann, “On the use of sensor nodes and mobile phones for the assessment of noise pollution levels in urban environments,” 2009 Sixth International Conference on Networked Sensing Systems (INSS), 2009, pp. 1-8, doi: 10.1109/INSS.2009.5409957.

Muffling the sounds of a city

Muffling the sounds of a city

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Following the previous blog, we see how noise pollution is an insidious source of pollution that plagues bustling cities. We looked at the health impacts as well as city guidelines to mitigate such impacts, but how exactly do we attempt to muffle the sounds of a city?

Most cities with good planning stem noise pollution at the very start, during the urban planning stages. Factors such as volume of traffic, vehicle distribution and urban density, all contribute to noise exposure of citizens within the city. Such factors are also often considered for when planning out zones and functions of the city. If main roads and industrial areas are situated far away from residential areas where most people congregate and rest in during night time, then this can greatly decrease the exposure of city noise pollution to humans (Morillas et al., 2018). However, in compact cities such as Singapore, we do not have the luxury of land to distance roads and industries far away from our houses. In these situations, noise mapping and urban designs can greatly alter the amount of city noise residences receive throughout the day.

Fig 1: A noise map of a residential neighbourhood in Singapore. Sources of noise can be traced effectively to better inform planners on plausible sites to implement noise control tools (Source: Garg, Lim & Lee, 2018)

When tackling noise pollution in the city, planners usually start with using the tool of noise mapping to assess and estimate noise pollution levels throughout the city, and place them on a map to better visualise the impacts. From here on, planners can choose to place noise buffer zones that also serve other functions, such as parks, between noise source and residences. Noise barriers such as walls, or soft engineered methods such as tall shrubs are also strategically placed according to the noise map, which can predict the direction of noise and pinpoint critical locations for barriers to intercept (Morillas et al., 2018).

Fig 2: Sound barriers strategically placed over certain portions of the MRT to soften the noise of the trains passing by (source: Land Transport Guru)

The tracking of urban noise pollution and noise mapping is a relatively recent one, with methodologies still in experimental stages. However, recent studies gave promising results in accuracy of noise mapping, as well as effectiveness of mitigation methods. As technology and research progresses, we can definitely hope for a more liveable and quieter city in the near future.

References

Morillas, J. M. B., Gozalo, G. R., González, D. M., Moraga, P. A., & Vílchez-Gómez, R. (2018). Noise pollution and urban planning. Current Pollution Reports, 4(3), 208–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-018-0095-7

Lullabies of a City

Lullabies of a City

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Close your eyes and take in the sounds around you. Perhaps you notice the whirling of the fans or air conditioning around you, or the minute ticking of your desk clock. Most likely though, you will hear the ever faint sounds of vehicles zipping down the streets, or the very distant sounds of construction. Although most of us would have been conditioned to subconsciously tune these noises out, they indadvertedly still stimulate the nervous systems in our bodies, and in a city where such noises are

Noise pollution impact millions on the daily basis, resulting in common illnesses such as noise induced hearing loss, increased blood pressure as well as psychological impacts such as increased stress and irritation (Stansfeld & Matheson, 2003). It has been found that children who grew up near airports developed poor memory as well as low levels of attention (Hart, 2018). Noise pollution also affect adults through poor quality of sleep, which affects productivity and overall health and mentality of a person. Several serious cases might even result in tinnitus or paracusis.

According to local guidelines on permissible noise, Singapore’s Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) states that residential noise should not exceed 65 decibels in the day, and 55 decibels during the night. The video below demonstrates what each decibel would sound like, and if you would like to know whether your current environment is within stipulated guidelines, online noise meter apps such as this can help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XUovxiTpVA

Now that we know about the sources and consequences of noise pollution, perhaps it is wise to turn down the volume of your headphones, and be more aware of the items around your house that causes tiny ticking sounds. In the next blog post, we will cover some of the ways cities take action in combatting noise pollution.

References

Hart, J. (2018). Noise Pollution is Hurting Our Health. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 24 (5), 229–231. https://doi.org/10.1089/act.2018.29185.jha

Stansfeld, S. A., & Matheson, M. P. (2003). Noise Pollution: Non-Auditory Effects on Health. British Medical Bulletin, 68 (1), 243–257. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldg033

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