Monitoring noise pollution in cities and protected areas with smartphones

 By Lucy Zipf, Richard B. Primack and Matt Rothendler

 "Only in saner moments do men hear the crickets. It is a balm to the philosopher.”  -Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

Noise is a pervasive form of pollution in urban areas that impacts the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. It is often difficult and expensive to monitor and map noise pollution, which limits the availability of noise data and excludes community members from engaging in monitoring efforts.

In a paper just published in PLOS ONE, we describe and demonstrate a low-cost noise monitoring method using smartphones that both engages and educates community members and produces detailed noise maps of urban landscapes and protected areas. The method was demonstrated using bio-blitz style, single-day citizen science events and also as a university-level environmental science field exercise.

The noise monitoring app on a smartphone.

Participants in a monitoring event receive maps showing where they need to record sound.

The maps provide a nuanced understanding of noise distribution through city streets and protected areas, highlighting key sources of noise, such as roadways. Our maps of the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, MA, document that cheering crowds at a Fenway Park baseball game create noise levels as high as 80 decibels, which is about as loud as a lawn mower, whereas a nearby park is much quieter.

A map of the Fenway area of Boston, which includes Fenway Park.

A pdf of the article may be obtained by clicking this link: Zipf L, Primack RB, Rothendler M (2020) Citizen scientists and university students monitor noise pollution in cities and protected areas with smartphones. PLoS ONE 15(9): e0236785. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236785