Urban environments are characterized by great traffic load, which continuously increaseswith the condensation of our cities. As the urban city areas grow, the population effectedby road traffic noise also increases rapidly. Road traffic is the largest contributor to noisein urban areas which is one of the main causes of psychosocial distress today. Efficientarrangements to reduce noise levels are widely discussed, and the concept of quiet zones inurban areas can be one contributing factor in creating a sustainable inner-city climate.Following the earlier Q-City project, CityHush “Acoustically Green Road Vehicles andCityAreas” is a three-year research project co-founded by the European Commission,under the 7th Framework Programme. The project includes evaluation of the quiet zoneconcept. Studies of design properties concerning boundary conditions, percentage of lownoise vehicle ownership and size of the quiet zone are discussed and analyzed for severalEuropean cities. The paper presents methods and findings regarding the test sites inSweden, where Stockholm and Gothenburg are represented.
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