Noise-management in public space with the “Laarhoven-index”

摘要

Noise in environmental legislation is based on electro-physical acoustics. The intention isrnto protect citizens against hearing damage and to guarantee quality of life. If the impactrnof psycho-acoustic factors is denied, civil servants will be faced with strong complaints inrnspite of their efforts to reduce noise pollution. This psychological gap in the existingrnlegislation was our reason to begin research into other ways to measure noise pollutionrnin urban situations. A pilot project of 10 “smart” monitors has been installed inrndowntown Oss in the south of The Netherlands to measure acoustic parameters and torncalculate the innovative “Laarhoven-index”. This index defines the disturbance of arnsuitable acoustic climate in a street and can be expressed as the resulting vector in arncomplex NDR-model (N= Normalization and exposure; D= Dynamics, low frequencyrnand spectrum; R= Response and acceptance). The monitor shows the acoustic situationrnin the street equivalent to real life experience of the inhabitants. The index appears to:rn1. Be a good instrument for noise management in the city centre;rn2. Result in fewer complaints about noise pollution;rn3. Have the possibility to cumulate sound of various sources;rn4. Be suitable to set up future simulations.