Noise Map Development for the City of Bogotá

One of the primary challenges currently faced by environmental and municipal authorities is the significant rise in noise pollution in certain residential neighborhoods and urban centers that are densely populated.

The project required environmental consultants to develop a Strategic Noise Map (SRM) to identify critical points for the design of a real-time environmental noise monitoring system for the first time in Bogotá.

The SDA selected the measurement areas based on the volume of complaints from localities and neighborhoods, resulting in the designation of twenty Special Attention Zones (ZEA). Due to the large number of noise sources in the city, sound pressure levels exceeding 65 decibels were recorded both during the day and at night.

In addition, the project aimed to generate georeferenced data and develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) as a fundamental input for the Authority's Environmental Viewer. Lastly, it sought to raise awareness and educate local authorities on effectively managing noise pollution through measures such as noise reduction at the source, proper land use planning, designing and implementing noise control systems, and placing restrictions on general noise sources.

The work performed included:

• Collecting field data, including the identification of sources and the monitoring of their noise emissions (monitoring emissions and ambient noise, vehicle counts, source inventory, etc.), and the monitoring and characterization of environmental noise with an emphasis on road traffic and airports, particularly due to the large size of El Dorado International Airport located in the city.
• Performing acoustic modeling with different scenarios using internationally approved environmental acoustic modeling software
• Performing graphical analysis and generating graphical outputs
• Creating georeferenced databases (geodatabase) of both input and output information used to develop the set of noise maps.
• Formulating strategies to reduce the impacts of noise pollution in the coming years through the implementation of decontamination plans in the 20 zones of special attention.

We used self-developed technologies (AmbiensQ) for data collection and management, noise assessment and prediction software (CadnaA - Computer Aided Noise Abatement), and mapping software to generate graphics.

During the execution of the project, we faced several challenges:

• Monitoring noise, especially at night, and characterizing the multiple noise sources in a city with over 9 million inhabitants.
• Processing a large volume of data to develop a 2D acoustic model, categorizing layers by sources of interest (road, rail, airport, and industrial traffic) using the collected field data.
• Calculating the percentage of the urban population exposed to noise (%PUAR) as input for determining the Urban Environmental Quality Index (ICAU). This required knowing the updated number of inhabitants per town, neighborhood, block, and dwelling within the 65-decibel curve. While general information from DANE was available, advanced programming algorithms were necessary to obtain detailed population data per dwelling in the area.

Through the developed noise map, we were able to identify with greater precision the main noise emitting sources by location, calculate for the first time the Percentage of urban population exposed to Noise, and design a noise decontamination plan to reduce the average annual day-night sound pressure level by at least 5%. 

The project improved the control and mitigation of urban environmental noise in Bogotá and the information available in the SDA Environmental Geographic Viewer.