Evaluation of urban noise during the pandemic period in a medium sized city

Abstract

This article describes a study on the evolution of urban noise in the city of São Carlos, SP, Brazil based on acoustic measurements carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic period and proposes models to predict the sound pressure level (L_Aeq), in order to verify the influence of the variation of the vehicular traffic composition on the measured noise. A study is presented, considering five measuring points in the centre of the city. Acoustic measurements were collected concurrently with vehicle counts. Based on the collected data, the results were analysed: variation in traffic composition and noise measured during the flexibilisation of the restrictive measures. Multiple regression models were developed to verify the influence of each type of vehicle on the generation of urban noise. The results obtained made it possible to verify a reduction in the noise level in the beginning of the pandemic, in May 2020. In November 2021 the L_Aeq levels were higher than those measured before the pandemic period, even with some restriction measures still in place. The proposed regression models showed the increasing contribution of motorcycles to urban noise. The correlation coefficient (R²) of the models were greater than 0.75, validating the generated models.