Cities are brilliant places, but they can be noisy too, and while having access to green space where you can tap out of the mayhem is important, it can be hard to properly escape from the city’s soundtrack.
That’s why one European capital is launching some new policies. According to a recent study, 13.6 percent of Lisbon’s residents (that’s around 74,118 people) are exposed to noise levels above 65 decibels specifically due to traffic, but the city council is aiming to change that.
Since 2014, an action plan has been in place for the city’s noise management, which includes a noise map, and Lisbon currently has 12 areas which can be considered ‘quiet zones’ – where environmental noise should not exceed 55 decibels during the day, nor 45 at night.
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However, Lisbon Municipal Assembly has approved an overhaul and that includes more than doubling the number of these zones to 26 in total. Just think: almost 30 spots where all the honking, revving and screeching will feel like it’s miles away – sounds lush, right?
But it’s not just traffic on the roads. Supercasa reports that Lisbon City Council is calling on other bodies, such as the Port of Lisbon and the Portuguese Environment Agency, to also factor in data on maritime and air traffic for the new noise map.
So, is this all just to make Lisbon a little more peaceful? Well, yes. The fact is that continuous exposure to high levels of noise can really impact our stress levels and quality of sleep, so making sure noise pollution is kept to a minimum will hopefully improve the lives of locals.
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