The Sound of a Circular City: Towards a Circularity-Driven Quietness

Abstract

The circular economy paradigm can be beneficial for urban sustainability by eliminating waste and pollution, by circulating products and materials and by regenerating nature. Furthermore, under an urban circular development scheme, environmental noise can be designed out. The current noise control policies and actions, undertaken at a source–medium–receiver level, present a linearity with minimum sustainability co-benefits. A circular approach in noise control strategies and in soundscape design could offer numerous ecologically related co-benefits. The global literature documenting the advantages of the implementation of circular economy in cities has highlighted noise mitigation as a given benefit. Research involving circular economy actions such as urban green infrastructure, green walls, sustainable mobility systems and electro-mobility has acknowledged reduced noise levels as a major circularity outcome. In this research paper, we highlight the necessity of a circularity and bioeconomy approach in noise control. To this end, a preliminary experimental noise modeling study was conducted to showcase the acoustic benefits of green walls and electric vehicles in a medium-sized urban area of a Mediterranean island. The results indicate a noise level reduction at 4 dB(A) when simulating the introduction of urban circular development actions.

Abordagens Baseada na Natureza Para Gestão Sustentável de Águas Pluviais em Ambientes Urbanos: Uma Análise Bibliométrica

“…Sabe-se, por exemplo, que as mudanças no uso e cobertura do solo podem gerar impactos que vão desde a perda dos habitats naturais e produção vegetal até o aumento de inundações, poluição, riscos à saúde e, consequentemente, elevando custos sociais (Eskandari et al, 2022;Gabriels et al, 2022;Marsan, 2018;Rudke et al, 2022) . Deste modo, conceitos relacionados ao desenvolvimento sustentável, economia circular e crescimento inteligente emergiram como pilares cruciais no enfrentamento das problemáticas ambientais contemporâneas (Barbesgaard, 2018;Girling, 2010;Ramírez et al, 2016;Tsaligopoulos et al, 2022;Ying et al, 2022).…”