Noise in the City: A Socio-Spatial Analysis of the Actual and Perceived Noise Levels in a Medium-Sized Urban Center

Year 2023, , 1 - 13, 10.01.2024

Kayode Samuel , Samuel Yakubu , Olufemi Durowoju

https://doi.org/10.26650/JGEOG2023-1189396

Abstract

Despite substantial systematic studies on noise pollution, studies relating actual noise levels to perceived noise pollution in the context of rapidly urbanizing medium-sized cities of the Global South are scarce. This study examined the perceived impact of noise pollution on the health of residents of Osogbo, Southwest Nigeria. It used a cross-sectional research design that included direct field observation to obtain noise levels and a questionnaire survey to assess residents’ perceptions of acoustic disturbance in the study area’s residential, commercial, and mixed land uses. Ambient noise levels were significantly higher during the day and night in residential, commercial, and mixed land uses than the WHO-prescribed maximums. Significant variations between different land uses were observed. More than 80% of the respondents perceived their neighborhoods as noisy, indicating a convergence between actual and perceived noise levels. Respondents scored power generators (22.1%), transportation (21.7%), worship places (20.3%), and markets and clubs (14.7%) as important sources of ambient noise pollution. Sleep loss (72.3%), hearing impairment (64.3%), and aggravation of hypertensive ailments (54%) were the acute effects of noise pollution. Few respondents claimed to be aware of the efforts of the government (34%) and neighborhood associations (28%) to stem the escalating rate of noise pollution. Enforcing environmental laws on noise reduction and advocacy that provokes noise-abating behavioral changes among residents could help curb noise pollution in the city.

Keywords

Medium-sized urban centers, noisescape, noise abatement, city’s livability, ambient noise levels

Thanks

The authors wish to acknowledge the Department of Geography, Osun State University, for its in-kind support for the research

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