Sound

The sound pressure levels associated with a given environment. Ambient noise is usually a composite of sounds from near and far sources none of which are particularly dominant. It is the level of total noise in an area.

Ambient Sound

An Ambient Sound is an acoustic summary of whatever encloses the listener, though it does so unintentionally. the main difference between music and ambient sound lies in the individual’s choice of what kind of music to listen to, as opposed to the lack of agency one has in being exposed to noises around oneself.

Significance

It is generally accepted that a quiet and peaceful environment is desired for residential areas. When planning such spaces one must make sure that residents are provided with such an environment. Spaces which are noisy or have sustained loud noise can cause deafness and/or psychological problems to residents. For creating a quality of life index, measuring the noise levels of a place is a obvious requirement.

AMBIENT SOUND MAP FOR LANE 15, PRABHAT ROAD AND VICINITY

Ambient Sound Quality Standards

One can see that most of the ward falls well within the safe sound zone except at major road intersections as indicated by the red and orange contours

Analysis

The neighborhood is safe in terms of ambient sound pollution but with some areas of risk. 20.8% of the study area falls under the harmful sound levels while average sound level of the area is 51 dB.

How noise pollution affects quality of life?

Possible Solutions

  1. Ban Honking on the streets.
  2. Create artificial sound barriers.
  3. Create natural sound barriers.
  4. Better traffic management practices.

Check out how we are using citizen collected sound data to improve Quality of Life in Pune City here.