Rennweg 3, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Department of Industrial Engineering of Florence, University of Florence, via S. Marta 3, 50139, Florence, Italy

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1 LIFE+2010 QUADMAP project (QUiet Areas Definition and Management in Action Plans): the proposed methodology and its application in the pilot cases of Firenze Chiara Bartalucci 1, Francesco Borchi 2, Monica Carfagni 3, Lapo Governi 4, Raffaella Bellomini 5, Sergio Luzzi 6, Rossella Natale 7 Congress Innsbruck Rennweg 3, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria 1-4 Department of Industrial Engineering of Florence, University of Florence, via S. Marta 3, 50139, Florence, Italy 5-7 Vie En.Ro.Se. Ingegneria S.r.l., via Stradivari 19, 50127, Florence, Italy ABSTRACT Current practices about selection, assessment and management of QUAs (Quiet Urban Areas) in EU Countries, though regulated by the EU Directive 49/2002/EC on Environmental Noise (commonly abbreviated END), appear to be extremely fragmented and inhomogeneous. In fact, each country during past years adopted a set of strategies strictly related to their specific contexts. Proposing a solution to overcome the lack of harmonized methodologies for QUAs is the main aim of QUADMAP (QUiet Areas Definition and Management in Action Plans) project. The results of the project will facilitate urban planners to apply standard procedures for identification, delimitation and prioritization of QUAs. The project has a high level of demonstrativeness guaranteed by the fact that the proposed methodology will be tested on a number of case study areas. In particular, it will be tested on a set of pilot cases in Italy, Spain, and The Netherlands. The project started on 2011, September the 1st and lasts three years. At the beginning of 2013 the first version of the harmonized methodology has been defined. The project partners have being testing the procedures making up such a methodology since February 2013 in all pilot cases. The proposed methodology and an overview of the available results in pilot areas selected in the city of Firenze are presented in this paper. Keywords: Quiet Areas, Noise, Soundscape, Environmental Noise Directive 1 chiara.bartalucci@unifi.it 2 francesco.borchi@unifi.it 3 monica.carfagni@unifi.it 4 lapo.governi@unifi.it 5 raffaella.bellomini@vienrose.it 6 sergio.luzzi@vienrose.it 7 rossella.natale@vienrose.it 1

2 1. INTRODUCTION After a first phase of data collection about the State of the Art, QUADMAP project 1 main aim is to propose a set of procedures for selection, analysis and definition of QUAs, in terms of both strategic and operative actions. These procedures are meant to be tested and optimized according to the results obtained in pilot areas. From the analysis of the State of the Art, concerning the QUA procedures for selection and analysis, many interesting techniques have been identified, although most significant parameters to be used are not clearly defined in most of them. All things considered, it has been decided to maintain an open-minded approach, taking into consideration almost all the different parameters proposed by each Country. This decision has been taken in order to evaluate the several proposed variables, also taking into account the analysis of results that, according to the methodology, are expected to be collected in pilot areas. The suggested methodologies should be intended as a first proposal, to be tested in pilot cases which are expected to point out the most significant variables for the analysis phase. At the same time indications are expected, from the analysis of ante-opera data, for the optimization of the methodology, relating to the management phase. In general, the proposed methodology is based on four elements: o noise maps of the environmental noise levels (noise emitted by means of transport, road traffic, rail traffic, airports and sites of industrial activity) in the municipality/agglomeration, obtained by applying the methodology defined by the END 2 ; o expert analysis (performed by staff belonging to municipality/agglomeration), based on the knowledge of the area or on the analysis of official documents; o questionnaires submitted to end-users (citizens) about their perception of the selected areas; o sound measurements in the selected areas. 2. QUA METHODOLOGY The proposed methods are chosen according to the State of the Art concerning EU strategies for selection and analysis of QUAs and also according to the results of stakeholders questionnaires. The aim is not to provide a strict sequence of operations, but a logical, effective procedure, to be implemented also thanks to schematic tools, despite of peculiarities characterizing each Member State. The methodology is composed of the following phases: candidate QUAs selection, candidate QUAs analysis by using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, definition of strategic and operative actions devoted to the management of QUAs. While for the first two phases results are already available, indications about QUA management are still missing because very few data about this aspect are available at the moment. The final proposal for the management phase will be developed in the next months, considering also results from the analysis of the ante-opera data collected in the pilot areas. 2.1 QUA definition A number of studies 3-4 about psycho-acoustics have demonstrated that noise influences also our social sense, so to re-discover the urban space, with its characteristics of pleasant place, appears to be particularly appealing. From this point of view, the first methodological problem targeted in this work is the need of a re-definition of QUAs described by the END as follows: quiet area in an agglomeration shall mean an area, delimited by the competent authority, for instance which is not exposed to a value of L den or of another appropriate noise indicator greater than a certain value set by the Member State, from any noise source. In the first phase of the project all QUADMAP partners contributed to the introduction of a new possible QUA definition. This study has been made in order to make clear that a quiet area is not only to be intended as an already silent one, but as an area that needs a particular environment in which people have the possibility of feeling undisturbed, considering the acoustic point of view but also other aspects. In other words, the final objective when providing QUAs is to define areas where people can find some refuge from urban environmental stress factors and where the well-being is improved. The QUA definition provided by the END involves only a specific aspect, but additional ones need to be taken into account in the new, general definition of QUA proposed by QUADMAP. According to

3 such a new definition, a quiet area is an urban area whose current or future use and function require a specific acoustic environment, which contributes to the well-being of the population. 2.2 Outcomes of desk study and stakeholders questionnaires A number of different approaches 5-8 (qualitative and quantitative) have been used up to this moment to analyse and evaluate QUAs. The assessment of the first round implementation of END requirements, gave evidence of the limited attention paid on QUAs in general 9-11.The provisional procedure described below to select and analyze QUAs is based on the results coming from the State of the Art analysis; in addition, a stakeholders questionnaire was submitted in several European countries, asking the competent authorities involved in the implementation of the END about the methods used for selecting/analyzing/managing QUAs. Figures 1 and 2 show a summary of the identified indicators. Figure 1 - Analysis of stakeholders questionnaire (question n 9). From chart depicted in figure 1, it can be seen that the most common parameters for a general non acoustic characterization of QUAs are: accessibility, reason for frequentation, presence of natural elements and frequency of visits. Figure 2 - Analysis of stakeholders questionnaire (question n 10). Figure 2 shows that a QUA is mainly characterized, from the acoustical point of view, by: sound levels, identification of sound sources and relative sound level contributions. The most important parameters emerging from the analysis of the stakeholders questionnaires have been taken into account in the first proposal of the analysis phase. All things considered, as the number of the collected questionnaires is not particularly high (36 stakeholders have answered the questionnaires from competent authorities in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, The Netherland, Belgium, United Kingdom, Norway), it has been chosen to maintain a relatively high number of variables, to be possibly reduced in the subsequent optimization analysis phase.

4 2.3 Pre-selection of candidate QUAs The variables proposed for the selection of the areas as candidate QUAs are defined in this phase, as well as the indexes for their description and the methods for their use. These variables should be analysed in sequence, since the pre-selection could identify areas that at present time do not fulfil the requirements, but could be part of an action plan for their improvement (either reducing noise levels or changing their use). Figure 3 shows in a schematic way the suggested procedure in order to make a first selection of the potential QUAs. STEP 1: DATA-COLLECTION USE AND FUNCTION: 1- Use Category defined by the General Urban Planning (e.g. residential, green areas, school areas, historic centre, cultural areas, etc.). 2- Use and function, emerging from interviews with technical staff (resting, reading, playground, social activities, sport activities, leisure activities, etc.). ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE LEVEL (2002/49/EC): 1- Lden - Noise Mapping 2- Possible detailed noise maps from previous studies. 3- relative Lden approach. STEP 2: PRE-SELECTION An area can be pre-selected as potential or already quiet because: - its use or function respect the established requirements and/or - it has been identified from the noise map according to the established threshold value candidate QUAs PRE-SELECTED Figure 3 - QUAs pre-selection procedure. The variables proposed for the selection of the areas as candidate QUAs are: o Use and Function, category of land use in the general urban planning (residential, green areas, etc.), or (current) function of the space (social relationship, conversation, resting, etc.);

5 o Noise Levels, with reference to the definition of a noise limit or threshold according to the END definition of environmental noise unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities, including noise emitted by means of transport, road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic, and from sites of industrial activity such as those defined in Annex I to Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control and using the L den parameter; In this phase additional, complementary criteria (equity distribution, citizens opinions, public use) can also be considered. Thanks to the described criteria a pre-selected area can be defined as already quiet or only as potentially quiet. 2.4 Analysis of potential QUAs The analysis phase of the QUAs requires two steps: o a preliminary desk study o an in situ survey and noise/sound measurements in each area Figure 4 shows analysis activities to be implemented and obtained results. These ones, in their turn, are useful in the subsequent phase of QUA management. PRELIMINARY STUDIES Desk study and preliminary in situ HUAs identification Sound measurements ANALYSIS in each HUA All tools are applied at the same time Non acoustic criteria Interviews with end-users Analysis of DATA in each HUA MANAGEMENT Preservation Plan / Correction and Improvement Plan Figure 4 - QUAs analysis. The preliminary desk study (and a preliminary in situ evaluation, if considered necessary), has to

6 be developed by the municipality/agglomeration staff, based on the knowledge of the area or o n the analysis of official documents. Based on the results of the preliminary analysis, candidate areas are subdivided into HUAs (Homogeneous Urban Areas). The definition of HUAs is connected with the following Items: o o o Landscape: the area must be characterized by the same visual elements and landmarks; Use: there is only one main and specific use or function of the area. This is connected with facilities and furniture in the area. For instance, in a park, many different uses can be addressed in different areas depending on the facilities: sports areas, recreational areas, resting and relaxing areas; Distance and Presence of sound sources: the influence of environmental sources (road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic or industrial activities) or other sound elements must be homogeneous in the area. The In situ surveys in each area, need to be carried out at the same time when citizens are visiting the area. They include end-users questionnaires, sound measurements (long term and short term) and wave recordings. Specific tools, defined for each item, are briefly discussed below. TOOL for END-USERS QUESTIONNAIRES A questionnaire have been prepared and a set of rules for its submission has been defined. The questionnaire deals with the following aspects: general information; place use; soundscape and noise; environment quality; living environment. TOOL for SHORT TERM MEASUREMENTS The short term measurements aim to collect acoustic information about the present sound levels during the in situ analysis. The minimal requirements for a generic QUA are defined below: - at least one measurement position per each HUA; - 1,5-1,8 m as the microphone height above the ground (according to the supposed ear height); - 30 minutes as the minimal duration of the short term measurements; - L Aeq,1s (Time History, 1 second based, of overall equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level) The short term measurements should be carried out in a time span when the HUA is typically used, in parallel to both the long term measurement and the end-users interviews; The measurement position needs to be close to the interview location, but far enough (at least 3 m distance) not to be influenced by the on-going interview; TOOL for LONG TERM MEASUREMENTS The long term measurements aim to collect acoustic information about the variability of sound levels vs time. The minimal requirements for a generic QUA are defined below: - at least a measurement position is expected per QUA (combined with short term measurement in each HUA); - 4,0 m as the microphone height above the ground (according to END suggestions, defined in Annex I of END); - 1 week as the minimal duration of the long term measurements; - L Aeq,1s (Time History, 1 second based, of overall equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level) The measurement position needs to be close to the interview location, but far enough (at least 3 m distance) not to be influenced by the on-going interview. TOOL for WAVE FILE RECORDING The WAVE file recording aims to collect acoustic information about the actual sounds during the time of in situ analysis in order to gather additional information possibly related to the end-users perception. This tool is a complementary ones and assumes the obtained wave file is used to extract

7 psycho-acoustic parameters affecting end-user perception. The minimal requirements for a generic QUA are defined below: - at least one recording position or a sound walk should be carried out into each HUA; - a binaural data acquisition system is suggested; - the recording measurements needs to be carried out in a time span when the HUA is typically used, in parallel to both the long term measurement and the end-users interviews; - a sampling frequency 44.1 khz needs to be used for the WAVE file recording; The recording positions needs to be close to the interview location, but far enough (at least 3 m distance) not to be influenced by the on-going interview. Based on the analysis results obtained in the pilot cases considered in the QUADMAP project, adequate parameters and indexes are expected to be defined. This phase will be dealt with in future work, when the data coming from all the pilot cases will be available. The proposed methodology is expected to be tested in a set of pilot cases in Italy, Spain, and in The Netherlands. Each Country will focus on specific typologies of potential QUAs (school courtyards, squares, peri-urban areas, green paths) in order to understand the applicability of the general proposed methodology to the different situations, but also to be able of calibrating the common method in function of the specific needs. In the following section, preliminary aspects emerging from data collection phase in the city of Firenze will be presented and discussed. 3. APPLICATION OF THE METHODOLOGY TO PILOT CASES IN FIRENZE 3.1 Introduction and areas description In Firenze six pilot cases have been selected and analyzed, all the pilot areas in the city of Firenze are school gardens. This kind of QUAs is characterized by a specific category of end-users (students, teachers, school staff and sometimes parents) and by a defined time to stay in the area, connected to time in which children attend school. The six gardens, chosen by the Municipality of Firenze, and their main characteristics are: - Scenario 01: De Filippo school, affected by road noise (Argingrosso Street and Bassi Street); - Scenario 02: Paolo Uccello school, affected by road noise (Pistoiese Street) and aircraft noise; - Scenario 03: Manzoni school, affected by road noise (Gemignani Street); - Scenario 04: Dionisi school, affected by road traffic (Aretina Street and Bonomi Street); - Scenario 05: Vamba school, affected by road traffic (Giardino della Bizzarria Street and Torre degli Agli Street). - Scenario 06: Pio Fedi school, affected by road traffic (Pio Fedi Street). 3.2 Delimitation of HUA Pilot cases analyzed in Firenze can be distinguished in nursery schools (scenarios 04, 05 and 06), primary schools (scenarios 01, 03) and secondary schools (scenario 02). The analysis phase of the QUAs for the delimitation of HUAs required the two-steps approach defined in section 2.4: a preliminary desk-study and an in situ survey comprising questionnaires and noise/sound measurements in each area. The subdivision of candidate areas into HUA has been carried out according to three items: landscape, use, distance and presence of sound sources or other sound elements considered homogeneous in the area. Figure 5 shows the delimitation of HUAs in Firenze pilot cases.

8 Figure 5- HUAs of Firenze pilot cases. 3.3 End-users questionnaires The questionnaires proposed to end-users have followed the specifications described in section 2.4. The end-users considered for the schools are: students, teachers, school staff and parents. The questionnaires were submitted in the form of interviews, during time in which users usually stay in the garden. In the following table a summary of data collection phase results is shown. TABLE 1 - Number of interviews for each QUA. ID QUA NAME OF QUA NUMBER OF HUA N. QUESTIONNAIRES 01 De Filippo Paolo Uccello Manzoni Dionisi Vamba Pio Fedi 1 55 The preliminary results of the survey show the possibility and necessity to calibrate questionnaires to both the area typology and the end-users features. For example, in the case of school gardens, according to the age of end-users, often under 10 years old, some specific questions are not understandable because of some word meanings are not known by pupils (for example in a question is asked to describe the sound environment using adjectives like monotonous or vibrant ). Furthermore, some specific questions regarding the proximity of the garden to the house of respondents appear with no sense in the case of the school garden, where people really do not chose the area, but it is necessarily linked to the school. Another interesting issue, coming out from the preliminary analysis of questionnaire results, regards also the opportunity to ask about the noise sources considered annoying in general and not only related to the particular moment in which interviews are carried out. In fact, if the respondents often attend the area, as in the case of school garden end-users, the answers are often related to general perception in that area, instead of referring to only the interview time.

9 3.4 Short and long term measurements and wave recording Short and long term measurements and wave recording have been carried out according to the respective tools described in section 2.4. In particular, for each QUA the following data are collected: - one week measurement in one position by using a measurement station (figure 6), combined to 30 minutes measurement in each HUA (long term measurements). Time History, 1 second based, of overall equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level (L Aeq,1s ) has been carried out. - at least a measurement position has been considered in each HUA with the microphone height at 1,5 m above the ground (short term measurements). The short term measurements have been carried out when the HUA is typically used, in parallel to both the long term measurement and the end-users interviews (figure 7). The measurement position has been closed to the interview location, but far enough (at least 3 m distance) not to be influenced by the on-going interview. The time period of short measurements has in general a 15 minutes duration, it has been taken in parallel to the end-users interviews. Time History, 1 second based, of overall equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level (L Aeq,1s ) has been carried out. - At least a binaural wave file, 44.1 khz frequency sampling based, has been recorded in each HUA during each end-users interview. - Figure 6 Measurement station (long term measurement). Figure 7 Sound level meter at 1,5 m height above the ground (short term measurements). 4. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK QUADMAP project focuses on the lack of a European shared methodology concerning the definition, selection, analysis and managing of QUAs. In the first part of the project a common strategy to deal with this deficiency has been defined by QUADMAP partners and explained in a practical way, developing also tools for the main phases of the methodology. Expected results from the analysis of ante-opera data in pilot areas are the following: to verify which of the tested variables are the most significant and important for the analysis of pilot areas, to define appropriate basis for the definition of managing procedures, to confirm or modify previously suggested methodologies for data acquisition, to be used for post-opera data collection.

10 The comparison between analysis of ante and post-opera results will be an important point for the assessment of interventions and, more in general, for the evaluation of management procedures. Dealing with the pilot cases in Firenze, a few interesting issues emerged during the data collection phase. In the forthcoming weeks, both questionnaires and measurement data are expected to be analysed so to go on with the devised methodology. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank all who sustained them with this research, especially the European Commission for its financial contribution to the project into the LIFE+2010 program. REFERENCES [1] Chiara Bartalucci, Francesco Borchi, Monica Carfagni, Lapo Governi, Miriam Weber, Henk Wolfert, Quiet areas definition and management in action plans: general overview, Proceedings of the 41st International Congress on Noise Control Engineering - INTERNOISE 2012, August 2012, New York City, USA. [2] Directive 2002/49/EC of the European parliament and of the council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise. [3] Silence, Practitioner handbook for local noise action plans-recommendations from the SILENCE project. [4] EC, Calm Strategy Papers, [5] Dick Botteldooren, Bert De Coensel, Quality assessment of quiet areas: a multi criteria approach, Proceedings of the European Conference on Noise Control - Euronoise 2006, 30 May 1 June 2006, Tampere, Finland. [6] Sergio Luzzi, Miriam Weber, Quiet areas: Turning missed opportunities into enhanced soundscape?, Proceedings of the 39th International Congress on Noise Control Engineering - INTERNOISE 2010, June 2010, Lisbon, Portugal. [7] Francesco Borchi, Monica Carfagni, Lapo Governi, The H.U.S.H. project An harmonized methodology for action planning, Proceedings of the European Conference on Noise Control - Euronoise 2012, pp , June 2012, Prague, Czech Republic. [8] Hester Booi, Frits van den Berg, Quiet Areas and the Need for Quietness in Amsterdam, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2012, 9, pp [9] Milieu Ltd (Vernon et al.), 2010, Final report on task 1 Review of the implementation of Directive 2002/49/EC on Environmental Noise. [10] Milieu Ltd (Janssen et al.), 2010, Final report on task 2 Inventory of Potential Measures for a Better Control of Environmental Noise. [11] Milieu Ltd (Vernon et al.), 2010, Final report on task 3 Impact Assessment and Proposal of Action Plan.