Quieter except on weekend evenings : changes in street-level noise following pedestrianisation
Nello-Deakin, Samuel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia
Delclòs, Xavier (Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Departament de Geografia)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	Using open data from seven permanent noise monitoring stations, our study assesses changes in street-level noise following the pedestrianisation of Barcelona's new 'green axes' in 2023. We find that noise levels have diminished consistently for all study locations following pedestrianisation, with an average 24-hour reduction of -3. 1 dB. However, this reduction overlooks potential qualitative changes to the soundscape caused by the shift from motorised traffic to pedestrian activity. We also report selected results from a resident survey assessing views on pedestrianisation (n = 1,211), regarding questions on street noise and its impacts on residents' homes. We find that residents of pedestrianised streets exhibit significantly different adaptive behaviours to street noise compared to those of neighbouring streets, reporting among others more frequent use of street-facing rooms and balconies.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades CEX2024-001506-M Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación JDC2023-050393-I Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación RYC2021-031672-I
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
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Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Pedestrianisation ; Street noise ; Traffic noise ; Pre-post study ; Barcelona
Published in:	Cities & health, 2026 , ISSN 2374-8834

DOI: 10.1080/23748834.2026.2616563

Available from: 2028-02-28 Postprint 27 p, 6.3 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles