Engineering Acoustics

16Community Noise and Vibration Sources

16.1 Introduction

The main sources of urban community noise are (i) road traffic, that is, trucks, cars, and motorcycles, (ii) aircraft/airport noise, (iii) railroads, (iv) construction noise, (v) noise from light and heavy industry, and (vi) noise from recreation activities. Road traffic noise is the most important of these and is discussed in this chapter in some detail. Aircraft/airport noise, although often cited as a major problem, is generally considered to be of less importance because, although it can be intense, it is mostly concentrated around major airports. However, from another point of view, aircraft noise is of extreme importance since strong public resistance to airport expansion in many countries is driven by aircraft noise complaints around airports. Railroad noise is a problem for residential strips situated along major rail lines, but it is much less pervasive than road traffic noise. Construction noise is often a problem too since in large cites there are normally some new building projects being undertaken; in addition, noise from the construction of new highways is a concern where heavy equipment contributes to the noise problem.

16.2 Assessment of Community Noise Annoyance

Several noise indicators and rating measures are in use. The equivalent sound pressure level L_eq (see Section 6.8 of this book) is used in many countries for the assessment of road traffic noise, although the statistical 10% level L₁₀ (see ...