Sound and the city

Urban noise management is a major concern for politicians, urban planners and municipal officials.

There are many tasks involved in managing noise including solving noise complaints, noise mapping and policing noise limits, as well as noise abatement and zoning. Following this, reports must be made, actions taken and the public must be kept informed.

Reduction of the noise levels by traffic regulation, low-noise road surfaces or noise barriers is very expensive, so it’s important to know exactly which areas have the largest problems, before investing in noise reduction. To help those involved in managing urban noise, Brüel & Kjær created a wide range of tools for planning, assessment and noise control.

Noise planning prevents noise issues arising and optimises the use of resources by managing the future noise environment.  This can be achieved through Brüel & Kjær’s noise mapping software, which performs a series of calculations and is essential for planning urban development of residential areas, such as with industrial sites, highways and airports.

Assessing noise is essential to ensure that noise limits are respected. Noise limits in urban environments are defined per specific source type, such as traffic, construction sites, industrial plants, entertainment and leisure activities - and for neighbours. Brüel & Kjær created a variety of noise tools for environmental engineers including sound level meters with innovative wireless communication options, built-in high capacity sound cards and self-calibrating instruments.

Noise control practices can be employed for noise mitigation, including the development and enforcement of noise limits and urban design. Typically, the only practical way to managing compliance with noise regulations has been for organisations to purchase noise measurement equipment, software and training and utilise existing resources to operate the equipment on an ongoing basis. To simplify this, Bruel & Kjaer launched Noise Sentinel - an internet based subscription service, which compiles the data and reports on behalf of the user. Noise Sentinel enables users to demonstrate that they are taking community noise seriously, reporting trends, handling noise disturbances and publishing information to the Web.

Ends

For additional information please contact:
Heather Wilkins
Marketing Coordinator
Bruel & Kjaer UK Ltd
Telephone: 01763 255 780
Web: www.bksv.co.uk
Email: heather.wilkins@bksv.com