Analysis of technical criticalities for GIS modelling an Urban noise map

Abstract

This paper analyzes criticalities and strengthens of a procedure used to model the acoustic map of the vehicular traffic of an urban agglomeration. The research is based on a pilot project for the acoustic mapping of a portion of the city of Palermo (Italy). Simulations indicate that the acoustic climate was in line with expectations and with typical of large Italian cities. The most remarkable result was obtained by an increase in the number of reflections (from two to five), while the influence of the height of the building (from 9 to 18 meters) was negligible – on the order of a few points per thousand. Regarding the analysis conducted with the ‘Gden Method’, acoustic values do not diverge significantly from the other Italian cities, registering values that were, however, the highest in the investigated sample.