Listening to cities during the COVID-19 lockdown: How do human activities and urbanization impact soundscapes in Colombia?

ABSTRACT: Noise is one of the fastest growing and most ubiquitous type of environmental pollution, with prevalence in cities. The COVID-19 confinement in 2020 in Colombia led to a reduction in human activities and their associated noise. We used this unique opportunity to measure the impacts of noise on urban soundscapes, and explore the effects of urbanization intensity independently of human activity. We launched a community science initiative inviting participants to collect audio recordings from their windows using smartphones. Recordings were taken during severe mobility restrictions (April), and during a period of lightened restrictions (May-June). From the data collected, we measured changes in sound pressure levels (SPL), acoustic structure (soundscape spectro-temporal characteristics), and

SUBMITTER: Ulloa JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9746930 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature