The impact of sound quality on annoyance caused by road traffic noise: an influence of frequency spectra on annoyance

Traffic noise spectrum analysis: Dynamic modeling vs. experimental observations

“…Two classes c of vehicles are considered: light vehicles lv and buses bus, defined by their flow rates Q lv and x t t + ∆ is the minimum between the position it is willing to reach when traffic is free and the position it cannot overpass when traffic is congested, that is as soon as it is 1 SYMUVIA is a dynamic traffic simulation tool jointly developed by INRETS -ENTPE 2 A starting wave defines the mean time between two starts of consecutive vehicles at a green light unable to reach the position he would reach if traffic were free. The time-step is fixed to t ∆ = -smin / w to have a numerical scheme that exactly matches analytical solutions, and avoids numerical viscosity.…”

“…The frequency spectra highly influence sound quality [1]. In particular, low frequencies due to road traffic flow deteriorate urban soundscape [2] [3].…”

“…In particular, low frequencies due to road traffic flow deteriorate urban soundscape [2] [3]. High frequencies which can emerge from traffic noise also increase annoyance [1]. Moreover, frequency variations play an important role in sound quality [4].…”

Global and Continuous Pleasantness Estimation of the Soundscape Perceived during Walking Trips through Urban Environments

“…Moreover, recent works have revealed the complex relations between perceptual assessments (e.g., pleasantness of the sound environment) [16][17][18] and physical measurements [19,20]. The importance of the temporal and spectral dimensions of sound [19,20], the interest of explicitly introducing the contribution of different sound sources (e.g., vehicles, voices, birds, etc.) into the modeling [16][17][18], the influence of non-acoustical parameters [21], such as the visual scene and the openness of the space [21,22], and even non-physical factors, such as demographic, cultural, and social factors, or context factors [23][24][25], advocate not relying on energetic indicators when producing sound pleasantness maps or assessing the sound pleasantness of urban walking trips.…”

“…However, estimating noise exposure is made difficult by the high spatial and temporal sound pressure level variability, typical in urban environments [14,15]. Moreover, recent works have revealed the complex relations between perceptual assessments (e.g., pleasantness of the sound environment) [16][17][18] and physical measurements [19,20]. The importance of the temporal and spectral dimensions of sound [19,20], the interest of explicitly introducing the contribution of different sound sources (e.g., vehicles, voices, birds, etc.)…”