Indoor and outdoor noise changes due to the COVID-19 lockdown and their effects on individuals’ expectations and preferences

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly modified our urban territories. One of the most strongly affected parameters was outdoor noise, caused by traffic and human activity in general, all of which were forced to stop during the spring of 2020. This caused an indubitable noise reduction both inside and outside the home. This study investigates how people reacted to this new unexpected, unwanted and unpredictable situation. Using field measurements, it was possible to demonstrate how the outdoor sound pressure level clearly decreased. Furthermore, by means of an international survey, it was discovered that people had positive reaction to the lower noise level. This preference was generally not related to home typology or location in the city, but rather to a generalized wish to live in a quieter urban environment.

COVID-19 pandemic decreased the ophthalmic outpatient numbers and altered the diagnosis distribution in a community hospital in Taiwan: An observational study

“…These four diagnoses are relatively stable and unlikely to be emergent. People with mild cataract may only suffer from glare and photophobia, which could be managed conservatively by wearing sunglasses or by decreasing outdoor activities, which were also largely decreased during the COVID-19 period [ 34 , 35 ]. Refraction disorders, which mostly consist of myopia control in this study, are emerging problems in Taiwan.…”

A Wireless Indoor Environmental Quality Logger Processing the Indoor Global Comfort Index

“…The questionnaire was drawn for a university classroom [ 48 ], adopting the post-occupancy evaluation (POE) method [ 47 ]. The response range for the comfort sensation was from 1 to 5 [ 20 ], where 1 is “very poor” and 5 is “very good”. All participation was voluntary at the end of the lecture hour (session).…”

“…It is widely accepted that a user’s comfort, or indoor environmental quality (IEQ) [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], consists of four core parameters, also known as IEQ elements, IEQ factors, or IEQ categories. These are thermal comfort [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], indoor air quality (IAQ) [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], acoustic comfort [ 18 , 19 , 20 ], and visual comfort [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Achieving high IEQ levels could prevent the occurrence of sick building syndrome (SBS) [ 27 , 28 , 29 ], building-related diseases, multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), and other unrecognized controversial disorders [ 30 ].…”

“…Several studies [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ] have identified weightings of these IEQ factors and/or have proposed overall comfort indices. These global comfort indices (GCIs) and their categories are often assessed either objectively (using sensors) or subjectively (through surveys) [ 20 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. Assessing the impact of each IEQ category on overall comfort is challenging for multiple reasons [ 51 ].…”

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on aircraft noise levels, annoyance, and health effects in an urban area in Oman

“…Such observed quiet residential environment caused by the pandemic led to positive reactions of people towards low noise levels in their neighborhoods, especially in both indoor and outdoor environments. The study found that even the most vulnerable group (> 60 years) was able to detect low indoor noise levels during the pandemic (Caniato et al 2021 ).…”