Noise Mapping 2023; 10: 20220166

Research Article

Arnaud Can*, Philippe Audubert, Pierre Aumond, Elise Geisler, Claire Guiu,
Tristan Lorino, and Emilie Rossa

Framework for urban sound assessment at the

city scale based on citizen action, with the
smartphone application NoiseCapture as a
lever for participation
https://doi.org/10.1515/noise-2022-0166 provide a citizen-based basis for decisions on noise envir-
received April 07, 2023; accepted May 15, 2023 onments; the next step will be to study its adaptability to
Abstract: The development of citizen-based approaches different territories.
to the diagnosis and decision-making on urban noise Keywords: participatory noise mapping, NoiseCapture
environments responds to a demand from both local smartphone application, valorization of the residents’
authorities and residents. However, the methods for fos- knowledge, co-construction regarding noise
tering the involvement of citizens and the valorization of
local knowledge have yet to be invented. This article
reports on a co-constructed experiment between researchers
and local authorities, in the city of Rezé (France), of an 1 Introduction
urban noise diagnosis based on the residents and the use
of the smartphone application NoiseCapture, which allows The management of sound environments is a major issue
a participative measurement of sound levels. The frame- in urban planning, in the context of urban densification,
work also includes focus group discussions. The dynamics increased mobility, and strong social demand for calm
of the recruitment and data collection phase are analysed, [1]. However, this management comes up against a gap
showing the importance of creating public events around between quantitative and qualitative approaches to noise.
the initiative. Maps of noise levels, but also of the presence On the one hand, objective and normative quantitative
of sound sources, such as road, rail and air traffic, or ani- approaches prove useful to quantify the exposure of popula-
mals, are produced in a collaborative way. Finally, the focus tions to noise, but are sometimes far removed from residents’
group discussions highlight that (i) repeated noise measure- perceptions. On the other hand, sensitive and qualitative
ment modifies participants’ relationship to sound environ- approaches get closer to perceptions but sometimes make
ments; (ii) NoiseCapture enhances the formation of a group it difficult to generalize. Moreover, the management of
of residents active on noise issues. Such a framework can sound environments lies within a context where urban
governance is increasingly oriented towards citizen invol-
vement [2]. It is therefore crucial to (i) work towards
methods of diagnosing sound environments that are closer
 to the perceptions of residents while remaining useful sup-
* Corresponding author: Arnaud Can, Univ Gustave Eiffel, CEREMA, ports for decision-making, and (ii) define the modalities of
UMRAE, F-44344 Bouguenais, France; IRSTV, FR CNRS 2488,
a discussion between political decision-makers, residents,
Centrale Nantes, 1 Rue de la Noë, 44321 Nantes Cedex 3, France,
e-mail: arnaud.can@univ-eiffel.fr and experts on the management of sound environments.
Philippe Audubert, Claire Guiu, Emilie Rossa: Ville de Rezé, Hôtel De In Europe, the Directive 2002/49/EC is used to map
ville, Place, J-.B Daviais – BP159, 44403 Rezé Cedex, France noise levels and to identify populations exposed to exces-
Pierre Aumond, Tristan Lorino: Univ Gustave Eiffel, CEREMA, sive levels [3]. It consists of an inventory of the main
UMRAE, F-44344 Bouguenais, France; IRSTV, FR CNRS 2488,
noise sources (road, air and rail traffic, and main indus-
Centrale Nantes, 1 Rue de la Noë, 44321 Nantes Cedex 3, France
Elise Geisler: ESO UMR 6590 Espaces et Societes, Angers, France;
tries), followed by acoustic modelling. The method has
IRSTV, FR CNRS 2488, Centrale Nantes, 1 Rue de la Noë, 44321 proved to be very valuable in quantifying the number of
Nantes Cedex 3, France people exposed to excessive levels and in assessing the

Open Access. © 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License.
2  Arnaud Can et al.

health burden of noise [1]. However, the maps produced approaches is to define the methods for involving citizens
do not include the diversity of sound sources as well as and enable the valorization of their residents’ knowledge.
the sound events that make up the sound environments, While the diversity of postures and practices of the dif-
which may distance them from the perception that resi- ferent stakeholders concerning noise environments is
dents have of their sound environment [4–6]. underlined by Manola et al. [16], the modalities of a dis-
In parallel to this research on the mapping of sound cussion between policy makers, residents, and experts
levels, research on soundscapes has been developed, which therefore remain to be defined.
is defined as the “acoustic environment as perceived or This article explores the hypothesis that participatory
experienced and/or understood by a person or people, measurement could contribute both to an alternative
in context” [7–9]. This research highlights a distinction characterization of sound environments and to stimu-
between the perception of mechanical, natural, and human lating the involvement of residents in sound environment
sounds [4]. It also highlights the importance of preserving issues. The method is therefore presented as a comple-
quiet urban neighbourhoods [10,11], which have been mentary alternative to regulatory noise maps. The idea
shown to have a positive effect on well-being and health of smartphone applications to measure sound levels is
and therefore require special attention [12]. Finally, the that each resident can make geo-localized measurements
soundscape approach encourages the involvement of dif- via their smartphone, which are sent to a server where
ferent stakeholders (policy makers, residents, and experts) post-processing is carried out [22]. The advantage of this
when making decisions that have an impact on sound approach, apart from the possibility of collecting data from
environments [8,13,14]. These recommendations echo a all over the territory, is to involve the residents in the collec-
need expressed by local authorities to involve residents in tion process. Various applications have been proposed over
the decision-making process, as well as an increasing desire the last ten years: NoiseTube [23], EarPhone [24], Ambiciti
of residents to be engaged in urban governance [2]. [25], or NoiseCapture [22]. However, no experimentation on
Experiments aiming to involve residents in the diag- the constitution of a group of “expert residents” in the long
nosis or in decision-making concerning urban sound term, based on the dissemination of a smartphone applica-
environments have been carried out in recent years. In tion for measuring noise, has been carried out to date.
the study by Alves et al. [14], interviews including ques- This is the objective of the Sonorezé project, which
tions about sounds and visual elements are conducted to was the result of a collaboration between the city of Rezé
gather viewpoints of all stakeholders prior to an acoustic and the Gustave Eiffel University. The project includes
intervention as part of an indirect participation in a deci- the recruitment of participants, the creation of participa-
sion-making process. Survey data on perceptions are tory noise maps integrating different indicators, and the
used to prioritize the factors that influence residents’ constitution of groups of residents aiming to develop
assessment of the quality of their living environment concerted proposals for noise mitigation. The objectives
[15]. In the study by Manola et al. [16,17], focus group are twofold: (i) test a protocol for diagnosing noise envir-
interviews are conducted to observe the dynamics of onments involving residents on a city scale, (ii) evaluate
the development of a soundscape diagnostic method within the interest of a smartphone application for measuring
different professional (acousticians, space designers, and noise, namely NoiseCapture, as a vector of this citizen par-
artists), institutional, and resident groups. An unsupervised ticipation in the context of noise. The idea is for the city to
installation allowing users to play audio content from their be able to draw on resident knowledge when designing new
own devices over publicly provided speakers is proposed urban developments. At the same time, an assessment is
and evaluated [18]; it is seen as a relevant strategy for made of how access to this tool modifies the residents’
interacting with both residents and city decision-makers perception of their soundscape and facilitates their empow-
on matters related to urban sound. In the study by Van erment and the enhancement of their knowledge. The
Renterghem et al. [19], a co-creation process with the article is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the case
spatial planning teams and city dwellers of Antwerp is study, the smartphone application NoiseCapture, and the
proposed, based on a three stages process of information, framework of the experiment. Results regarding the parti-
co-creation, and evaluation. Finally, a smartphone appli- cipatory diagnosis of the sound environment, the resi-
cation, namely Hush City, is developed and included dents’ perceptions, and the empowerment questions are
within a framework that aims to empower local commu- given in Section 3. The limitations of the experiment and
nities to map and evaluate quiet spots in their neighbour- the further required research to enable the dissemination
hoods, with the idea to impact participatory planning of the approach to other territories are discussed in Section
processes [20,21]. One of the main difficulties in these 4. Section 5 concludes with the next challenges for this
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  3

research and its main benefits for noise mitigation that to all sound sources, compared with regulatory noise
includes both residents and local elected officials. maps. Thus, the sound levels are closer to those perceived
by the residents. On the other hand, in contrast to regula-
tory noise maps, it is less easy to determine which sound
2 Methods sources can be attributed to the measured sound levels.
The NoiseCapture application has been subjected to
numerous tests concerning the validity of the measure-
2.1 Case study
ments. Ideally, smartphones are calibrated before use,
which consists of correcting the sound level given by
Rezé is a town in the Nantes conurbation with a popula-
the smartphone according to the value given simulta-
tion of around 43,000, structured by various road and rail
neously by a reference smartphone or a sound level
routes, close to Nantes-Atlantique airport, and crossed by
meter, and based on a controlled sound source [22]. In
significant commuting traffic. However, the town also has
this way, a set of up to ten smartphones can be calibrated
remarkable environmental amenities: the edges of the
simultaneously (Figure 2).
Loire and Sevres rivers, the Jaguère stream, the Ilette
Noise mapping methodologies based on the Noise-
valley, the urban forest, and numerous green spaces
Capture application have been proposed, including a
(Figure 1). One of the distinctive features of Rezé is its
calibration and interpolation phase [26]. In addition, a
proximity to the Nantes Atlantique airport. The town is
dense collection protocol has been designed, called Noise-
therefore affected by noise pollution plans, as well as by
Capture Party, which has been widely tested (cities of
noise-related non-building zones. Some residents, quite
Bastia, La Coruña, Salerno, etc.)¹. A NoiseCapture Party
educated about noise issues, express the gap between the
is an event that brings together a large number of partici-
regulatory noise maps and their own perceptions. In
pants, which makes it possible to cover a large area in a
terms of governance, Rezé is led by a citizens’ movement.
short period and to mobilize the residents around the issue
Issues of “citizen dialogue” are central to the municipality,
of noise environments. In total, the application has nearly
which has set up several participation tools (citizen con-
100,000 contributors worldwide at the date of publication
ference in 2021, citizen consultation vote in 2022, youth
and over 5 years of data collected. All the data from the
and mobility commissions, etc.).
application are returned to the community as open data
under the ODbL license² and constitute, to our knowledge,
the largest open database in the world in the field of envir-
2.2 The NoiseCapture application onmental acoustics. Codes are also open access. Finally,
the application serves as an educational tool for numerous
The development of the Android application NoiseCapture interventions [27]. The application has been widely
started in 2014, in partnership between CNRS and Gustave deployed in the scientific community since its creation,
Eiffel University [22]. It allows each user to make noise and it is used both for educational purposes and for
measurements from their smartphone (if it is an Android scientific work [28–31]. However, its dissemination in a
smartphone, the application not being available yet on large-scale experiment as carried out within this frame-
iOS). Each noise measurement is combined with its GPS work is an innovation.
track. No sound recordings are made, and the data col-
lected are completely anonymized, as described in the
privacy policy page of the application’s website: https:// 2.3 Framework
noise-planet.org/NoiseCapture_privacy_policy.html. Once
the measurement has been taken, the user has access to The objective of the experiment was twofold: (i) to estab-
the application for his or her exposure during the journey, lish a cartography of the sound environments of the city
which can allow him or her to easily visualize the noisy of Rezé based on measurements made by residents, (ii) to
and quiet areas crossed. Finally, a tag mode allows the constitute an expert group of residents able to discuss the
user to indicate the sound sources heard and the condi- issues concerning the sound environments of the city.
tions of the measurement (indoor/outdoor, windy, rainy,
etc.). The data sent by the user are then processed on a
server to create an interactive noise map that can be

viewed online: https://noise-planet.org/map_noisecapture. 1 https://noise-planet.org/noisecapture_party.html.
Noise maps produced based on NoiseCapture are sensitive 2 http://data.noise-planet.org/index.html.
4  Arnaud Can et al.

Figure 1: The city of Rezé.

Figure 2: Screenshot of the NoiseCapture application (left) and website for mapping the collected data (right). Source: Bocher et al. [32].

2.3.1 Recruitment of participants communication channels were invited to download the

application and take measurements and eventually to
A series of events were organized, supported by the city’s approach the researchers to join the group of participants
communication services, in the form of a special section by leaving their e-mail address or joint the social network
on the city’s website and press release, in order to com- group. The focus group interviews were also the subject
municate about the project and the search for partici- of a communication, internally via the group of partici-
pants (see their date in the agenda of the experiment in pants constituted, and through the city’s communication
Figure 3): services.
• A public kick-off meeting brought together more than
30 residents to launch the project on 01 December 2021:
• The project then received media coverage from the 2.3.2 Data collection
regional and national French press during the month
of December. This dissemination allowed publicizing Data collection lasted 7 months, extending from December
the approach while communicating with the general 2021 to June 2022 inclusive. The participants were free to
public on urban noise environments issues. take measurements whenever they wished, with the
• A special event was organized as part of the “Unesco instruction either to take measurements in spots of at
Week of Sound,” which is an international event that least 1 min or to take mobile measurements, taking care
promotes noise awareness, on 15 January 2022. not to pollute the measurements with their own steps
• One article was published in the city local journal in and to pay attention to the weather conditions (avoid
February 2022. either rain or gusts of wind). In addition, a page dedicated
• Four events were organized on the city’s markets in to perception, present in the NoiseCapture application,
March 2022, during which the project members had a allowed participants to fill in perceptual variables: tag
stand and went to meet the residents. the sound sources heard (on/off), and give a sound envir-
onment pleasantness rating.
The participation process was completely open. A smartphone calibration was carried out at each
Residents informed of the experiment through the various organized event for participants who wished to do so,
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  5

Figure 3: Dynamics of data collection. Top: Number of new measurement tracks as a function of time. Bottom: Number of new participants as
a function of time.

in order to improve the quality of the collected data. A for the production of noise maps. Therefore, the objective
mailing list and a social network discussion group were is not to relate the collected data to long-term health
created, in order to maintain the momentum around the impacts but rather to follow a short-time capture approach,
project. However, since for reasons of anonymity, it is not more related to short-term disturbance. The influence of
possible to know the telephone number of the people measurement duration and timing on the maps produced
who have downloaded the application, it was not pos- is discussed in Section 4.1.
sible during the project to send messages to people who
are taking measurements and have not left their e-mail
addresses. As a result, some of the data collected came 2.3.3 Data treatment
from not calibrated smartphones, which the application
keeps track of. 2.3.3.1 Production of sound levels maps
Finally, five NoiseCapture parties were organized Each raw LAeq,1s collected value is associated with a posi-
from the 5th month onwards, with the idea of carrying tion, a time value, and Meta data such as a participant Id
out measurements in areas poorly covered by the experi- number, and possibly a calibration value. Each of the raw
ment, with internal communication. These NoiseCapture LAeq,1s value is then processed in two steps:
parties took place on 27 April 2023, 07 May 2023, 16 May • Step 1: Correction with the calibration value. For parti-
2023, 31 May 2023, and 14 June 2023. The idea was to cipant Id numbers with no specified calibration value, a
bring together residents to carry out measurements over calibration value is estimated, in order to counteract
a period of about 30 min and then followed by an informal the fact that data from non-calibrated smartphones
discussion on the sound environments heard. have a higher variability. The method consists of applying
Measurement tracks, which consist of the sound the difference for each non-calibrated smartphone,
levels and GPS position at a 1 s resolution, the presence between the median of the LAeq,1s values collected
of sound sources for the whole measurement track, and with the smartphone and the overall median of the
meta data (calibration value of the smartphone and Id LAeq,1s values calculated over all the smartphones.
number of the participant), were sent continuously by This method is a simplified approach derived from
the participants through the experiment (an option in the method presented by Can et al. [33]. The under-
the smartphone application allows a participant to either lying idea is that a smartphone that systematically
send the data at the end of each measurement track or by gives measures biased by an average given value is
batch at a chosen time). Finally, data were post-processed highly probably accurate but with a bias of that value.
6  Arnaud Can et al.

• Step 2: Once a calibration value is assigned to each interviews are a recurring feature of soundscape research.
smartphone, the next step consists in correcting according They are for example used by Bruce and Davies [37] to
to the time of the measurement, in order to counteract show the impact of expectations relative to a soundscape
the fact that differences in measured sound levels can on its appreciation, by Jia et al. [38,39] to question the
be due to the moment when the measurement is achieved. dimensions of soundscape worthy of preservation, or by
The correction for the time of the day is based on previous Davies et al. [40] to show the descriptive elements used
works, described by Aumond et al. [34]. For each hour by individuals to describe soundscapes. In the study by
of the day, taking separately “Monday to Friday,” Manola et al. [16], focus group interviews were conducted
“Saturday,” and “Sunday,” the difference between the to observe the dynamics of the development of a sounds-
median of LAeq,1s values at this time slot and the median cape diagnostic method within different professional
of all data collected between 8 h and 18 during a (acousticians, space designers, and artists), institutional
weekday is applied. This way, the produced noise and resident groups.
maps are LA50 values between 8 h and 18 h during a The focus group interviews, which lasted about 90 min,
weekday. were prepared in advance together by the elected officials
and the researchers:
Finally, spatial processing enables the production of • The first focus group brought together nine participants
the LA50,[8–18h] noise map on a regular hexagonal grid of on 4 April: six residents, one local elected official, and
50 m sides. The spatial processing consists of a Kriging two researchers. The residents were invited to bring an
described in the study by Aumond et al. [35]. The vario- object related to their relationship to the city’s sound
gram and Kriging algorithms presented in this study are environment, to initiate a round table discussion. The
computed using the functions vgm (computation of the open discussions were then oriented on the perception
variogram), fit, variogram (best fit of the variogram), and of the sound environments of the city, along with ques-
kriege (Kriging function) of the package gstat [36]. tions on the sensitivity to noise and the variety of the
listening situations. Questions were then asked about
how the experimentation was modifying the partici-
2.3.3.2 Production of sound sources maps pants’ relationship with the city’s sound environment.
Sound sources maps are produced for the following four First elements concerning possible noise mitigation
sound sources: road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic, and solutions were finally discussed.
animals. Only the measurement tracks, for which a sound • The second focus group brought together seven parti-
source tag is indicated, are kept for this analysis. In addi- cipants on 18 May: four residents (one of whom had
tion, tracks of more than 3 min or 500 m length are fil- taken part in the first discussion group), two elected
tered out, to avoid assigning tags at the wrong location. officials, and one researcher. After a quick round table
This treatment leads to keeping 58.1% of the tracks. A discussion, the discussion focused on the links between
regular hexagonal grid of 50 m sides is created over the sound environments and ways of living in the city. A
study area beforehand. For each of these four sound collective discussion then focused on the actions that
sources, for each hexagon of this grid, the proportion of could be implemented to improve the city’s sound envir-
tracks containing a tag that intersects with the hexagon, onments, introduced by an overview of possible actions
whose tag is that of the source, is represented. against noise presented by the researcher.

These discussions were audio-recorded, with the verbal

2.3.4 Focus group interviews informed consent of all participants, to be transcribed for
detailed analysis while preserving the anonymity of the
In addition to the kick-off meeting, which brought together participants.
more than 30 residents, the event of the 15 January 2022
and the five NoiseCapture parties, each of which gave rise
to informal exchanges about sound environments, two 2.3.5 Semi-directive interviews
focus group interviews were organized. These focus
group interviews involved elected officials, residents, Ten individual semi-directive interviews with partici-
and researchers, with the idea that the residents freely pants were also conducted by a Master 2 student [41] at
express themselves on the city’s sound environments, in the end of the project, in order to determine the residents’
their positive or negative components. Focus group reasons for participating in the process and to
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  7

understand whether their perceptions of the sound envir- • The importance of the events organized to maintain
onment had changed and their involvement in the project activity around the community, with a strong increase
and their willingness to participate in a citizen’s group com- in the participation observed after each event.
mitted to the issues of the noise environment at the city scale. • The constant slowdown in participations, with for
instance few measurement tracks collected in March.
This shows the difficulty in getting people involved in
2.3.6 Closing seminar
the measurement in the long term. This is however
countered by events such as the NoiseCapture parties
Finally, the project gave rise to a closing seminar on 25
organized during the last two months. Indeed, the 5
June 2022 for the residents of Rezé. The event included a
NoiseCapture parties amounted to 3.9, 1.8, 1.8, 2.8,
scientific report, consisting of a presentation of the maps
and 1.9% of the total duration of collected data, respec-
produced and a summary of the focus group interviews.
tively, that is a total of 12.3% of the collected data in a
The residents were also invited to give feedback on the
short duration.
experimentation. The seminar also included original
• The impact of external factors such as school holidays
artistic performances, as local artists (a saxophonist, a
or weather conditions on participation, with almost no
drummer, and a couple of circus performers for three
data collected during the Christmas school holidays,
performances of 8 min each) were invited to present
whereas the good dynamics of the two first weeks of
improvisations based on an audio sound scene represen-
December. In addition, the number of measurements
tative of the Rezéan sound environments, composed from
per participant is heterogeneous. Among the 134 parti-
field recordings. The project was also accompanied by an
cipants, 48 participants took five or more measurement
illustrator, who helped to make the approach tangible for
tracks, 30 participants took 10 or more measurement tracks,
the residents. Finally, a round table involving residents,
18 participants took 20 or more measurement tracks, and
the city of Rezé (elected officials and technical services),
4 participants took between 100 and 230 measurement
and researchers was organized. The participation of resi-
tracks. The same heterogeneity stands for measurement
dents in the diagnosis and improvement of sound envir-
durations. Among the 134 participants, 72 participants
onments was discussed, as well as a possible follow-up to
took 5 min or more of measurements, 45 participants took
the project, with all parties agreeing on the relevance of
15 min or more of measurements, 22 participants took 1 h
continuing the experiment.
or more of measurements, and nine participants took
between 3 and 10.5 h of measurements.

The temporal distribution of the collected data is

3 Results
depicted in Figure 4. The distribution of measurements
within the week is heterogeneous, with almost three
3.1 Insights from the data collection times more measurement tracks collected on Tuesday
experimentation than on Sunday. The distribution of measurements is
also heterogeneous during the day, with a strong peak
3.1.1 Dynamics of measurements in the number of collected measurement tracks between
16:00 and 17:00. All time periods between 4:00 and 23:00
After 7 months of data collection of the experiment, the are represented, although the times of the day before 7:00
number of participants was 134. The total number of mea- and after 21:00 are poorly covered. The absence of data
surement tracks made was 1,566, for a total duration of collected at night explains the choice of selecting the
93 h, which is a mean measurement duration of each mea- LA50,[8−18h] as an indicator, since data would have lacked
surement track of more than 3 min. The median duration for estimating Lnight and consequently Lden values. How-
of measurement tracks is 66 s; 90% of the measurement ever, given the data treatment described in Section 2.3.3,
track last 6 s or more, and 10% of the measurement tracks which relies on the difference between the median of
last 5 min 40 s or more. The detailed temporal evolution of LAeq,1s values at a given time slot and the median of all
the number of participants and the number of data col- data collected between 8 h and 18 during a weekday, the
lected is depicted in Figure 3. More details on the dynamics temporal heterogeneity during the day and during the
of measurements can be found in Can et al. [42]. The main week has no influence on the calculated LA50,[8−18h]
results are as follows: value.
8  Arnaud Can et al.

Figure 4: Temporal distribution of measurement tracks. Left: number of tracks for each day of the week. Right: number of tracks for each
hour of the day.

The spatial distribution of the collected data is helped to counter this heterogeneity and to gather
depicted in Figure 5. It highlights the spatial heteroge- data in areas poorly covered.
neity in data collection, with a much higher density
of measurements in the north of the city than in the
south. This is explained by the fact that the population 3.1.2 Produced sound environment maps
densities are higher in the north, which contains many
buildings than in the south, which contains mainly Sound environment maps were produced following the
individual houses. The five organized NoiseCapture par- method described in Section 2.3.3. The maps depicted in
ties (see Section 2.3.2 and black circles in Figure 5) Figures 6 and 7 are those that were presented and dis-
cussed with the residents during the final seminar on
25/06/2022. Possible improvements to the method are
discussed in Section 4.2. The LA50,[8−18h] map depicted
in Figure 6 can be compared to the multi-sources (road
traffic + rail traffic + aircraft traffic + main industries) Lden
strategic noise map. The produced LA50,[8−18h] map is
in accordance with expectations. It highlights the con-
trast in sound levels between major and minor roads,
although the lack of data around the ring road in the
South prevents highlighting the high sound levels here.
Interestingly, the produced LA50[8−18h] map is sensitive
to sound level variations in no traffic zones as parks
(see North East along the river for instance), whereas
the strategic noise map depicts no data here. Some incon-
sistencies, however, such as high-level spots in quiet
neighbourhoods, were noted by residents. They are the
result of an insufficiently long data collection, which is
thus sensitive to outliers in measurements. In addition,
participatory measurements cannot cover all the weather
Figure 5: Density map of the LAeq,1s data collected. The black circles conditions that occur during a year, which are averaged
represent the five NoiseCapture parties. under the strategic noise maps modelling.
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  9

Figure 6: Produced sound levels noise map. Left: map of LA50,[8−18h] produced during the project. Right: multi-sources (road traffic + rail
traffic + aircraft traffic + main industries) Lden strategic noise map.

Finally, Figure 7 represents the map of the perceived The road traffic tag was activated for 80.4% of the
presence of rail traffic sounds, aircraft traffic sounds, road tracks that contained an activated tag;
traffic sounds, and animal sounds. These sound sources • The map of the perceived presence of animal sounds is
are selected because they are related to perceived sound consistent with the parks and green areas of the city,
pleasantness [4]. The other tags contained in NoiseCap- hence potentially highlighting areas suitable for restora-
ture offer the possibility to map amongst others the per- tiveness. The animal tag was activated for 30.8% of the
ceived presence of voices, children, music, vegetation, tracks that contained an activated tag.
water sounds, works, or industrial sounds. The sound
source-oriented noise maps are in line with expectations
and were considered by the residents during the closing 3.2 Insights from the focus group and the
seminar as an interesting alternative to the classical noise semi-directive interviews
maps. The details are as follows:
• The map of the perceived presence of rail traffic sounds The transcripts of the focus group and the semi-directive
follows the tramway line, which crosses the city. It is in interviews were analysed according to a reading grid
accordance with the strategic Lden map for rail noise. stressing the dimensions of diagnosis, impact of the
The rail traffic tag was activated for 3.5% of the tracks experimentation, and empowerment. The two focus group
that contained an activated tag; interviews involved six and four residents. The semi-direc-
• The map of the perceived presence of aircraft traffic tive interviews involved ten residents (Section 2.3.5). These
sounds shows a higher density in the heard air traffic were not necessarily those who were most active during
sound sources in the south west of the city, as one gets the data collection phase. For example, two participants
closer to the airport, which is located 4.5 km southwest said that they had not taken any measurements because
of the city limits. It is in accordance with the strategic they did not own an Android smartphone. Others acknowl-
Lden map for aircraft noise. The air traffic tag was acti- edged that they had taken very few measurements. Dif-
vated for 28.3% of the tracks that contained an acti- ferent profiles of participants can be drawn from the par-
vated tag; ticipants in these focus groups. Some participants came to
• The map of perceived presence of road traffic sounds the experiment clearly with a negative a priori about the
shows a high density in the heard road traffic sound city’s noise environments, some belonging to the anti-air-
sources everywhere in the territory. This map however port noise association. Some participants came out of poli-
fails to discriminate between major and minor roads, as tical sympathy for the elected team, and some belonged to
the sound sources tag under NoiseCapture is “on/off.” the local elected party. Some participants were young
10  Arnaud Can et al.

Figure 7: Sound-oriented noise maps. Top left: map of perceived presence of rail traffic sounds. Top right: strategic noise map for rail noise.
Middle left: map of perceived presence of aircraft traffic sounds. Middle right: strategic noise map for aircraft noise. Bottom left: map of
perceived presence of road traffic sounds. Bottom right: map of perceived presence of animals.

retirees involved in local life associations. The detailed 3.2.1 Towards a discursive diagnostic of sound
contribution of the participants in the focus groups environments
and semi-structured interviews is given in Appendix 1
(Table A1). For ease of reading, the quotes are tran- The focus group interviews drew up a discursive diag-
scribed in English; the exact texts, in French, are given nosis of the sound environment of the city of Rezé, high-
in Appendix 2 (Table A2). lighting the diversity of the sound sources heard in the
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  11

area, but also the diversity of perceptions and the impor- far from the Balinière, between the planes I hear very plea-
tance of the different temporalities making up the city’s sant things, as it’s the music school, we walk in the streets,
sound environments. we enjoy the children and adults who play at the Balinière
school, and it’s true that in the summer in particular, it’s
great because they have the doors and windows open
3.2.2 Diversity in sound sources, perceived both there, and so do we, and everyone in the district enjoys
negatively and positively it. It’s very pleasant, the piano, the violin…” (P12); “It’s a
cherry blossom tree, where there are a number of birds,
Two sound sources were at the core of the discussion and and they make the most noise.”(P9).
on which there was consensus, namely road traffic and
air traffic, illustrating the concerns of residents of a city
crossed by significant commuting traffic and under an air 3.2.3 A diversity in perceptions among the residents
corridor of an airport located less than 5 km away. Air
traffic, in the first place, focuses the attention and is a A strong link between the perceptions expressed by the
source of exasperation manifested by the residents: “I residents, their living environment, and their experience
remember one morning at the end of the summer… I sleep of sound appeared in their comments. The perceived
with the window closed, it’s not possible otherwise… and sound environments thus take on an individual dimen-
even so, with the window closed, I had about ten planes sion, which leads to a lack of consensus on certain sound
taking off between 6 and 7 in the morning, it was hellish.” sources, such as stadiums or cafés: “No, there is a need for
(P2). Road traffic, perceived more as a continuous stream cafés. The new café on Charles Rivière Street, I find it closes
present without respite at all hours of the day, is also a early.” (P9). “And I find that the streets are very pleasant,
source of exasperation: “I really have the impression that when I’m on my terrace I can hear the children in the play-
now; maybe even more in the South of the ring road, there ground on rue Salengro. It’s something that reassures me,
is traffic all the time! All the time! At any time of the day. it’s lively at the same time […] I actually love this neighbor-
and then in the morning, it’s incredible […] And it’s trucks, hood.” (P12).
trucks, trucks.” (P2). Finally, the discourse on sound environments was
Other sound sources perceived negatively, which accompanied by a psychological dimension, which is
may seem more anecdotic but which constitute urban known from the literature and is widely acknowledged
sound mixtures, were also mentioned, such as glass con- and expressed by the residents. This is particularly true
tainers, stadium, or manhole covers. It seems that, for when the discussion focused on mobility or aircraft noise:
these sound sources, further focus group interviews invol- “Noise is very strongly linked to the psychology of noise
ving new participants would multiply the diversity of tes- association. Personally, there is a big problem with air-
timonies: “I witnessed it one day, in the Place du 8 Mai, planes, it’s not just the noise, it’s a next step, I think ok
people were putting in the receptacle for the glass, a horror. I the problem with airplanes is the conflict between modern
didn’t have the application to measure the noise, but it was society which says we must protect the planet, take the
really a horror.” (P11). “There is another noise that is quite plane less often, the CO2 and then we see the traffic
infernal, and I didn’t think it would be so much, it’s the increase. And when I think afterwards, all the citizens of
stadium” (P2). “The manhole cover… the trucks when they Nantes who say ok we have to reduce CO2, and then they
pass over it, and then as it is always in bad balance it… take the plane for the weekend to go to Portugal for a drink
“clong clong” (P3). with friends. It’s not consistent for me, and maybe that
The focus group interviews also drew a portrait of a adds to the aggression against noise.” (P4).
city with quality sound environments, driven by green
spaces and preserved residential areas. Hence, sources
such as parks (cited as a location rather than as a sound 3.2.4 Sound environments as temporal markers
source), music, or birds were cited: “Then there are three
parks there, I don’t know if you know the area… which are The discursive description of the sound environments
rather pleasant, and if I have to take one of the parks, there finally inscribed noise as a strong temporal marker.
is a square behind the buildings, so it’s quite protected Participants in particular shared the strong expectation
from all the road noise, passage… and when you’re there, of quiet periods. So much so that one of the residents
you don’t feel like you’re in the city.” (P7); “There are some brought back a calendar as a significant object of her
very pleasant noises, not only the noise of planes. I live not perception of the city’s sound environments: “I brought
12  Arnaud Can et al.

this: […] it’s a calendar, and I put Sundays in fluorescent, there are a lot of private houses, it’s rather quiet […], but
because Sundays are really much nicer, when you open a then there are noise peaks that come. […] I hear, not the ring
window in the morning… so here I have all the Sundays in road, but the road to Pornic I think. And that’s a very diffuse
April, and then I have a public holiday, and public holidays noise, continuous, and it doesn’t bother me much, but I think
are even better than Sundays.” (P10); “On Sunday morn- that the peaks are really not pleasant.” (P4).
ings, the noise from the ring road is reduced by three. you This conscious listening initiated by taking measure-
get a feeling of calm.” (P3). ments also led them to distinguish places that seemed
As a result, the noise was described by the partici- pleasant from a sound point of view, because they
pants as even more violent aggression during the periods were lively and animated: “The whole walking area
considered as restful: “The entrance to the MiN for along Trentemoult because it’s quite noisy but it’s nice
example [national interest market]… lorries coming from noises, even if it’s only the Navibus, it’s a little boat noise,
the road… Well… there is traffic at 3 am.” (P3); “There will we’re close to the Loire, there are noises of discussions,
always be traffic, and for the noise, well, there will always cheerfulness, it’s lively.” (P8). Other places exposed to low
be a car passing by and during the night, as there is no noise intensities seem to be unpleasant to them, because
traffic, it will pass quickly, it will accelerate.” (P7); “Because of either the permanence of the noise: “The ring road has
between 6 and 7 o’clock in the morning that’s when it been a permanent background noise for the last 2 or 3 years,
takes off the most.” (P2). especially in the morning, and when I measured it, it’s not
very loud.” (P9), or the type of noise and the meaning
given to it: “I have the impression that all the noises
3.2.5 How participating in experimentation changes the that bother us the most are manufactured noises, not
relationship to sound environments natural noises. It’s things that we are subjected to because
it’s traffic, it’s planes… it’s things that are mechanical in
Another interesting point emerging from the discussion fact.” (P2).
was the modification of relationships to sound environ- For some participants who had a negative perception
ments induced by experimentation, which can be broken of their city’s sound environments, taking measurements
down into an increase in technical expertise and a greater lead to an awareness of the complexity of sound environ-
sensitivity to societal issues. The use of the smartphone ments and of the presence of positive sound sources as
application initially led them to listen to their sound well: “With the project I started to see the positive noises.
environment in a more conscious way: “Already during Because before I had a very big focus on negative noises.
the recordings, it’s something quite phenomenal, but the As this app has little buttons for animals, children, I said ok
fact of recording opens us up to all the noises around us, so there are positive noises too.” (P4); “Now I am more atten-
that, on a personal level, it’s rather nice because it rein- tive to unpleasant noises AND a little more attentive to
forces the sense of hearing and listening.” (P8). By mea- pleasant noises, that’s true. Because before it was the total
suring sound levels and carrying this careful listening to absence of noise that I considered pleasant, but that is not
sound environments over a period of several months, always the case, there are pleasant noises too.” (P4); “For
participants learned about ambient sound levels and rea- me, who is on the Avenue Général Leclerc, there are a lot of
lized that sound levels were not the only thing shaping bicycles that go by and I have to admit that it is a lot
their perceptions and feelings. Repeated listening to sound quieter than the cars, so it is more pleasant. So that
environments lead them to distinguish between sound allowed me to highlight the positive points rather than
level and perception: “The first two things that surprised the negative ones.” (P6).
me were the rumor, which was something that had been On the other hand, the experiment reinforced nega-
bothering me for a few years, and then when I measured it tive feelings towards certain sound sources too. This was
I realized that it wasn’t loud, and the noise of the birds, the case in particular for road traffic and its humming
which is really loud in my garden and doesn’t bother me present throughout the territory. For these residents,
at all.” (P9); “Then another thing, it’s SonoRezé that made taking part in the experiment was therefore a possible
me aware of this, it’s the noise of the birds, so a pleasant source of increased annoyance: “Before there was noise,
noise. They are really present, there are a lot of birds.” I didn’t pay much attention, now I pay more attention.”
(P14). If some people are bothered by the noise of a con- (P9); “Since I have the approach in mind, I listen! In fact,
stant rumor, others are more sensitive to the contrast I’m becoming obsessed; I can hear the ring road.” (P13);
between rumor and emergences: “For me it’s a contrast “When I go to people’s houses or when I go to a new place,
between silence or very quiet areas, because where I live it’s immediately “can we hear the ring road”… and it’s
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  13

hellish!” (P2). Some have become aware of the possibility, were motivated by the fact that they were involved in a
at a short distance, to access quieter places: “The other common project on their territory of life: “Because I found
time when we did the measurements […] I just had to move the subject interesting, and then it’s also a way of partici-
200 m away and I didn’t perceive the noises of this busy pating in the city of Rezé and in what is happening there. I
street anymore.” (P11). Finally, the participants in the can’t say that it’s a form of commitment because the com-
process were able to distinguish the neighborhood unplea- mitment is weak but there is a bit of that, you can’t just be a
sant places because they are noisy: “There is the road to spectator, from time to time you have to be an actor too.”
Pornic of course. […] but the road to Pornic is unpleasant (P5); “I was interested in being able to contribute to a
because it is very busy.” (P6), and quiet places: “There are common project with a rather original and innovative
peaceful places by the rivers, by the Loire or by the Sèvre, a approach to taking noise pollution into account, a subject
real treat!”(P2), “Well, these are the two areas that I know that is not necessarily put forward regularly.” (P8).
well, and they are pleasant because it is very green, the This participation in a collective encourages a certain
Jaguère there is a small forest and you can no longer see empathy among the participants, allowing them to put
the buildings, there are birds and it is quite calm.” (P4). their personal cases into perspective and to have a more
global vision of the noise experience in their city. The
latter managed, as passers-by, to adopt the point of
3.2.6 Towards the formation of a group of residents view of the residents and even to extrapolate these
empowered to discuss improving the sound experiences, in order to develop a collective diagnosis:
environment “I feel sorry for the people next door […] It’s a punctual
thing, but it’s repeated many times…” (P3); “I don’t hear
Several signals from the participants in the process allow them at home but I put myself in the place of the people
us to perceive the potential of the formation of a group of next door.” (P12); “I can’t imagine the nuisance it will
motivated residents who can increase their expertise on cause to the population” (P11); “I assume that for the
sound environment issues. people living nearby it must be very impactful.” (P11).
First of all, although they are not experts on the sub- The residents who participated in the process also
ject, they have for them the mastery of use and the search showed their lucidity regarding the past and current
for solutions on a daily basis, sometimes developing stra- mutations of the city as well as their repercussions on
tegies to avoid noise: “I ride my bike a lot, so I don’t take the daily sound environment. Changes have been noted
my street by bike, I immediately turn off to another one, for in terms of new forms of mobility: “There is a noise that
my ears, for my safety.” (P1); “It’s obvious, all the main appeared two years ago, at the beginning, it made me
roads are noisy because of the traffic. On the other hand, strain my ears all the time. Today it has become THE noise
when I go to the market by bike or on foot, I always manage of the city as I have integrated it… it is the noise of the
to go through the back streets that are not busy.” (P5). scooter that stops… and then, that looks for where it is
They show curiosity and reflexivity on the issue of noise: going to deliver.” (P10).
“I wonder if the noise models are accurate. You see the The residents described too, through the discourse
planes directly; there is nothing to stop the noise. On the on noise environments, a changing city, and the burden
other side of the street, my house blocks the noise and for of rapid urbanization on the sound environments and the
the neighbors it’s ok.” (P4), about the phenomena that lives of the residents: “Very stupidly, I thought that I
cause it: “When the winds are dominant you can hear would escape very quickly to the green by settling here.
the ring road” (P3); “So when it’s an easterly wind, there’s It’s true that in 15 years this environment has changed a
clearly much more noise. When it’s an easterly wind, we’ll lot […] it was really the old village of Rezé.” (P10); “In
have, for example, the noise of planes landing, which is Ragon 15 years ago I remember having breakfast outside
reduced”(P14), and how it should be taken into account during the week… and not today!” (P10); “I was very dis-
by society: “When I speak with colleagues, they ask me the appointed that the part along the river had been concreted,
problem for you is CO2, pollution? I answer no, it’s noise. it it could have become a very beautiful green area. But 12 or
is not present in the society I find.” (P4). 15 years ago it was not yet on the agenda, we concreted
There was also a desire to join a collective project. more than we greened the cities.” (P5).
Out of the ten semi-directive interviews conducted after The last point, which concerns local issues and actions
the project, half of the interviewees said they were inter- to be taken, drew a portrait of residents educated in health
ested in the subject and the approach, beyond the con- issues and practices that lead to sound environments of
sideration of their own exposure to noise, and said they quality: “That was my question too, how bad is the noise?
14  Arnaud Can et al.

This permanent background noise or this instantaneous to draw up transposable conclusions, insofar as the pro-
noise?” (P3), and aware of practices that lead to sound ject team was involved in the protocol: what seems to be a
environments of quality: electric vehicles, silent pave- low or high level of mobilization is partly the result of the
ments, residential areas. Although it is not possible to energy put into the animation. Other experiments, testing
know whether this knowledge preceded the experimenta- other facilitation methods, in other territories, will allow
tion, this point suggests an educated debate on the pos- confirming the elements that work or not. It is however
sible mitigation of noise using innovative materials or a already possible to give hints on some points concerning
certain design of the space: “Electricity is great for that, for the participation regarding data collection: (i) a begin-
noise it can change a lot of things.” (P7); “They now use a ning of the recruitment in winter, as proposed here, is
form of surface coating. when you drive by it’s much quieter undoubtedly handicapping, with a decrease in the mea-
all of a sudden… have you noticed that?” (P7);” I confirm I surements certainly related to the climatic conditions, (ii)
live in a housing estate, you come in from a street, a round- the proposal of collective measurement sessions, as it
about, you come out from the same place, as soon as you’re was done from the fifth month, is, according to the resi-
behind you don’t hear anything. There is no passage.” (P9); dents, very efficient to maintain the interest around the
“For me, the main axis that could make the sound evolve in project. Finally, the study area, the city of Rezé, had the
the city is really not to do 100% road.” (P8). difficulty of being relatively sparsely populated, with
These discussions were also the place to question the 3,120 residents/km², which reduced the number of people
elected representatives present on certain elements, such recruited per km² and therefore the density of measure-
as urban planning rules, which are perceived as an injus- ments expected. This figure can be compared with the
tice in the face of noise: “Who accepts building 20 m from density of cities such as Lyon and Barcelona, where
the ring road? I mean, come on!” (P3); or to show legis- NoiseCapture parties already took place, and which
lative inconsistencies in their view of noise management: have respective densities of 10,909 residents/km² and
“We wonder why it’s forbidden to use the lawnmower in the 16,675 residents/km². The production of noise maps and
garden on Sundays, and why planes can fly.” (P4). Finally, citizen diagnostics would be facilitated in such cities.
the fight against noise requires, according to the partici- A question arises about the social profile of the par-
pants, a collective awareness and a modification of mobi- ticipants and the impact that the experimentation had on
lity practices: “For me, we are responsible for this, as the relationship that the participants develop with the
citizens. it is our way of life that creates this noise…”, sound environments. A bias observed in this experiment
(P2) “I’m happier riding a bike than driving a car in the in the representativeness of the participants in the focus
city. I’m always on time for my appointments, it doesn’t groups is the absence of the category of people under 30
cost me anything, I don’t make any noise, I do some years old, which may make the views of this category
sport…”, (P2); “We must discourage people from taking invisible. Regarding participants’ motivation to get involved,
their car” (P2). studies show that people annoyed by noise are more
likely to participate in noise discussion groups and that
aircraft noise generally induces more protesting beha-
viour than road traffic noise [43]. One could therefore
4 Discussion have expected to see the discussion groups or even the
diagnostic phase by measurement, monopolized by the
city’s anti-airport associations, which was not the case.
4.1 Discussion on the experiment
Some participants clearly expressed their exasperation
with noise, and in particular with aircraft noise, and
A methodological framework is proposed for the consti- some participants indicated their membership in anti-
tution of a group of residents educated on the question of noise associations, which are thus over-represented in
sound environments and able to contribute to the diag- the sample of participants. Nevertheless, the wide range
nosis and decisions. The original experimentation drawn of topics addressed during the discussions shows the
up is in itself rich in lessons. One of the conclusions openness of the participants, whose interventions were
concerning the dynamics of participation of the residents constructive and not limited to the annoyance due to air-
is the strong impact of the energy put into the animation craft noise.
of the network of participants, with increases in partici- Although difficult to demonstrate, a rise in expertise
pation observed after the public interventions and the with regard to noise issues seems to be observed, with
communication sequences. It is therefore quite difficult residents illustrating their arguments with acoustic data
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  15

in decibels, for example (Section 3.2.2). This result echoes measurements and a fixed measurement network, the
work that has shown that taking repeated measurements latter capturing temporal variations has proven effective
allows participants to better recognize the noise levels in by Can et al. [47]. This work could also build on the recent
decibel values to which they are exposed and a finer results of deploying low-cost sensor networks [41,48,49]. If
determination of soundscapes [44]. Finally, the study no measurement network is deployed in the city, it would
showed that the focus on sound environments that implies be of interest to be able to get a few highly motivated
in this framework repeated measurement and careful lis- participants living in strategic locations to take continuous
tening could reinforce negative feelings about unpleasant measurements for a few days. Finally, the protocol for
sound environments for some participants. Some of them, mapping the perceived time of presence of sound sources
such as P9 and P13, even reported an obsession. This could be improved. It is not clear for instance if the
echoes recent work, which showed that communicating absence of a tag, which is not included in the protocol,
with focus group participants about noise exposure is relevant information that should be accounted (in the
increased awareness, to the point that some may regret proposed protocol, the ratio of tags of a given sound
having had this knowledge [37]. However, this is not the source is represented, calculated amongst the measure-
case in our study, where it is rather militant anger that ment tracks that include a tag).
has been aroused than regret. The experimentation also allowed pointing out areas
for improvement concerning the NoiseCapture applica-
tion. The lack of development on iOS was regretted by
some participants and can be easily countered by making
4.2 Expected technical ameliorations available reconditioned smartphones, in the form of a
mobile sensor library. Finally, the application could be
The statistical processing proposed in this article is technically improved to get closer to the soundscape
relatively simple and is limited to the one performed to paradigm [8], by integrating for example questions about
produce the maps presented to the residents during the the animated character of the sound environment and
project presentation meeting. The three phases of data asking the heard sound sources on continuous scales,
processing presented in Section 2.3.3 could be refined. as recommended [50], where the NoiseCapture applica-
The calibration phase could integrate a better qualifica- tion only queries a presence through an “on/off” tag. An
tion of the input data, as underlined by Picaut et al. [45], automatic identification of sound sources within the appli-
by introducing information about the technical perfor- cation is also envisaged for the future, adapted from the
mance of the smartphone and the measurement protocol deep learning techniques developed in [51]. Finally, work
or detecting anomalies in the collected data. Spatial on the representation of the maps is required to improve
information such as the street category could be inte- their comprehensibility for elected officials and residents.
grated, when comparing the values to those of the rest This requires work on the graphic semiology, as well as
of the smartphones. The temporal profiles could also be technical questioning on the automated sharing of the
refined, also using a categorization of streets, as it is done maps via a web interface.
for example in the study by Can et al. [46]. Spatial inter-
polation could also be improved, using for example Kri-
ging functions [35]. Even so, the lack of data and the
spatial heterogeneity of the collected data constitute a 4.3 Discussion on the perpetuation and
basic shortcoming for the production of a representative deployment of the framework
noise map over the entire territory. The NoiseCapture
party approach developed at the end of the project greatly One of the stakes for the perpetuation of the framework is
improves on this point, as it allows dense data collection in to be able to support the decisions relating to the sound
a short time. In addition, a limitation of the production of a environments of the groups of expert residents consti-
noise map based only on smartphone data is the difficulty tuted. As discussed in Section 4.1, the number of partici-
of reconstructing daily average noise patterns, which vary pants does not allow concluding on the possibility of
over the territory. The absence of data at night is also a building the long term because it is very dependent on
limitation, in particular in view of determining sleep dis- the investment of the researchers in the experimentation.
turbance. One avenue of research to investigate for the However, some indicators suggest a long-term involve-
future is to rely jointly on smartphone measurements ment of the residents. First, a discussion on the definition
and a fixed measurement network. Combining mobile of quiet zones, organized by the city of Rezé 5 months
16  Arnaud Can et al.

after the end of the experimentation, gathered eight resi- dependent on a favourable context. The city’s elected
dents, including seven members of the project. Second, a officials are part of a citizen movement promoting social
question asked during the debriefing seminar established dialogue and the involvement of residents in decision-
that 78% of the respondents (14) wish to be involved in making. Moreover, on the side of the residents, the city
the long term. The long-term (several years) involvement of Rezé is also a promising territory for citizen participa-
of participants in participatory sensing cannot be ana- tion in noise, with some participants belonging to anti-
lysed in the framework of this study. It is likely that a noise associations or who belong to the local political
large proportion of the participants who are attracted by movement association. residentsA next step will be to
the measurement process will turn away from the experi- extend the experiment to other territories of different
ment over the long term. This is probably not detrimental sizes, with different social and sound contexts, to under-
from the point of view of characterizing sound environ- stand how the protocol can be extended. This work is
ments, as the turnover in participants is already high on a planned within the framework of the Sonorezé II project,
scale of a few months. A long-term operational issue is funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). It
the possibility of testing changes in noise environments is planned, in this second part, to work with various
as a result of noise control measures (potentially as a territories (dense cities and small towns), to develop an
result of a co-construction with residents), based on par- analysis grid of the project to understand the success
ticipatory measurements. This would require the involve- factors of the approach. Finally, it will also be useful to
ment of participants over a period of several years or the analyse in greater detail the interplay between the
targeting of specific measurement campaigns with strong “researchers/residents/local elected officials” triptych.
community involvement. This question cannot be answered One of the challenges for the success of the process is to
within the framework of this study. Finally, a completely ensure a balance in this triptych. For this reason, it is
open protocol was tested in this article. It would be inter- interesting to note that the second part of the project will
esting to test sampling strategies with more guidance for include the presence of a Third Party Monitor, whose role is
the participants or with the involvement of the city’s tech- to offer an outside view, and to identify the sources of mis-
nical staff. understanding, misunderstandings or tensions between the
In addition, the semi-directive interviews made it partners, and to provide solutions.
possible to question whether the expectations of the par-
ticipants were met [52]. The conclusions are as follows.
Regarding their relationship with the sound environ-
ment, most of the participants were at least a little sensi- 5 Conclusion
tive to the subject of sound because of their experience;
they felt concerned and wanted to get involved in this A framework was set up, under a case study in Rezé
research subject. This project allowed them to realize (43,000 residents), to involve the residents in the process
how important sound quality was in their daily lives. of characterizing the city’s noise environments and to set
The majority of the residents tended to say that they up a community of residents aware of the noise issues
did not involve themselves enough, not because they and able to carry out discussions regarding sound envir-
did not want to, but mainly because they were not suffi- onments in liaison with the local authorities. Participatory
ciently available. However, most of them are waiting to noise data collection and focus group discussions form the
see what kind of dialogue will be established with local core of this framework. The conclusions are as follows:
officials and what the project will lead to and are waiting – A noise map of the territory can be supported by
for possible solutions that could have been proposed. participatory data collection, although some improve-
This is undoubtedly a crucial issue for the continuation ments to the method are listed, such as the improve-
of the residents’ involvement in a participatory process ment offered by organized collective measurement
like this one. However, the participants all remain glob- sessions, which help to cover the territory more
ally satisfied with the project and, for the most part, plan homogeneously.
to continue the adventure if it were to be repeated. – Maps representing the perceived presence of urban
Finally, a question arises as to how to implement sound sources (road traffic, rail traffic, aircraft traffic,
such a protocol in other territorial contexts and without and animals in the case study) can also be produced.
the intervention of the research team. The positive results – The experiment enabled the creation of a group of
discussed in this article concerning the involvement of residents educated to the noise issue, favourized by
residents and local elected officials are certainly partly the use of the smartphone application NoiseCapture.
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  17

– The focus group discussions draw up a portrait of resi- [4] Aumond P, Can A, Lavandier C, De Coensel B, Botteldooren D,
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the I-Site Future under the programme “Chercheur.e.s/
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Citoyen.ne.s.” The semi-directive interviews with partici- and conceptual framework; 2014.
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would like to thank Antonin Tribaleau, who contributed Schulte-Fortkamp B, et al. Ten questions on the soundscapes
a lot to the relations with the residents during the experi- of the built environment. Build Environ. 2016;108:284–94.
[9] Geisler E. « Le paysage, un moyen de (re)qualifier et de car-
ment, and Myriam Pedessaud, who did very valuable work
tographier l’environnement sonore ». in Sonorités, n°7. Éd du
of transcribing the focus group interviews and who con-
Champ Soc. 2012;145–59.
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[12] Van Kamp I, Klæboe R, Kruize H, Brown AL, Lercher P.
the city of Rezé who volunteered their time for collecting
Soundscapes, human restoration and quality of life; INTER-
data and participating in the focus group interviews and NOISE: Towards a Quieter Future; 2016 Aug 21–24; Hambourg,
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[13] Can A, L’Hostis A, Aumond P, Botteldooren D, Coelho MC,
Author contributions: All authors have accepted respon- Guarnaccia C, et al. The future of urban sound environments:
sibility for the entire content of this manuscript and Impacting mobility trends and insights for noise assessment
and mitigation. Appl Acoust. 2020;170:107518.
approved its submission.
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Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of planning in urban development processes: the study of four test
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 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  19

Appendix
Appendix 1. Detailed contribution of
the participants to the focus group
and semi-directive interviews

Table A1: Details of the participation of participants amongst the

two focus group interviews and the semi-directive interviews

Focus group Focus group Semi-directive

interview from 06/ Interview from 18/ interview
04/2022 05/2022

P1 ×
P2 × ×
P3 × ×
P4 × ×
P5 ×
P6 ×
P7 ×
P8 ×
P9 × × ×
P10 ×
P11 ×
P12 ×
P13 ×
P14 ×
20  Arnaud Can et al.

Appendix 2. Details of the citations

quoted in the article

Table A2: Original citations in French with their translation in English as quoted in the article, and their origin

Original citation Translation in English reported in the article Origin of the

citation

“Moi je me souviens d’un… matin à la fin de l’été là… euh “I remember one morning at the end of the summer… I P2, FG1
donc moi je dors fenêtre fermée hein, c’est pas possible sleep with the window closed, it’s not possible
sinon… et quand même fenêtre fermée j’ai eu une dizaine otherwise… and even so, with the window closed, I had
d’avions qui ont décollé entre 6 h et 7 h du matin, mais about ten planes taking off between 6 and 7 in the
c’était infernal quoi.” morning, it was hellish”
“J’ai vraiment l’impression que maintenant, peut-être “I really have the impression that now; maybe even more P2, FG1
encore plus dans le Sud du périphérique là, mais y a la in the South of the ring road, there is traffic all the time!
circulation mais… tout-le-temps! Tout le temps!! A All the time! At any time of the day… and then in the
n’importe quelle heure de la journée… et alors le matin morning, it’s incredible […] And it’s trucks, trucks,
mais… c’est incroyable quoi […] Et c’est des camions, des trucks.”
camions, des camions.”
“J’ai été témoin un jour, place du 8 mai; les personnes “I witnessed it one day, in the Place du 8 Mai, people P11, FG1
mettaient dans le réceptacle pour le verre, une horreur. Je were putting in the receptacle for the glass, a horror. I
n’avais pas l’application pour mesurer le bruit, mais didn’t have the application to measure the noise, but it
vraiment c’était une horreur.” was really a horror.”
“Y a un autre bruit aussi qui est assez infernal, et je “There is another noise that is quite infernal, and I didn’t P2, FG1
pensais pas que ça serait autant, c’est le stade.” think it would be so much, it’s the stadium.”
“La plaque d’égout… les camions quand ils passent “The manhole cover… the trucks when they pass over it, P3, FG1
dessus, et puis comme elle est toujours en mauvais and then as it is always in bad balance it… “clong clong””
équilibre ça… ‘’clong clong””
“Après y a 3 parcs là-bas, je sais pas si vous connaissez le “Then there are three parks there, I don’t know if you P7, FG1
coin, et… qui sont plutôt agréables, et si je dois prendre un know the area… which are rather pleasant, and if I have to
des parcs y a un square qui est derrière les immeubles, take one of the parks, there is a square behind the
donc assez protégé de tout ce qui est bruit routier, buildings, so it’s quite protected from all the road noise,
passage… et quand on est là-bas, on a pas l’impression passage… and when you’re there, you don’t feel like
d’être en ville.” you’re in the city.”
“Il y a des bruits très agréables quand même, il n’y a pas “There are some very pleasant noises, not only the noise P12, FG2
que le bruit des avions. J’habite pas loin de la Balinière, of planes. I live not far from the Balinière, between the
entre les avions j’entends des choses très agréable, comme planes I hear very pleasant things, as it’s the music
c’est l’école de musique, on se promène dans les rues, on school, we walk in the streets, we enjoy the children and
profite des enfants et des adultes qui jouent à l’école de la adults who play at the Balinière school, and it’s true that
Balinière, et c’est vrai que l’été notamment, c’est super in the summer in particular, it’s great because they have
parce qu’ils ont les portes et les fenêtres ouvertes là-bas, the doors and windows open there, and so do we, and
nous aussi, tout le monde en profite dans le quartier. C’est everyone in the district enjoys it. It’s very pleasant, the
très agréable, le piano, le violon…” piano, the violin…”
“C’est un cerisier fleur, où il y a un certain nombre “It’s a cherry blossom tree, where there are a number of P9, FG1
d’oiseaux, et c’est eux qui font le plus de bruit.” birds, and they make the most noise.”
“Non il y a besoin de cafés… Le nouveau café rue Charles “No, there is a need for cafés. The new café on Charles P9, FG2
Rivière, je trouve qu’il ferme tôt.” Rivière Street, I find it closes early.”
“Et je trouve que les rues sont très agréables, quand je suis “And I find that the streets are very pleasant, when I’m on P12, FG2
sur ma terrasse j’entends les enfants dans la cour de my terrace I can hear the children in the playground on
récréation rue Salengro. C’est quelque chose qui me rue Salengro. It’s something that reassures me, it’s lively
rassure, c’est vivant en même temps […] effectivement at the same time […] I actually love this neighborhood.”
J’adore ce quartier là.”
“Le bruit est lié très fortement à la psychologie qu’on fait “Noise is very strongly linked to the psychology of noise P4, FG2
association bruit. Moi personnellement il y a un grand association. Personally, there is a big problem with
problème avec les avions, c’est pas que le bruit, c’est une airplanes, it’s not just the noise, it’s a next step, I think ok

(Continued)
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  21

Table A2: Continued

Original citation Translation in English reported in the article Origin of the

citation

étape prochaine, je pense ok le problème avec les avions, the problem with airplanes is the conflict between
c’est le conflit entre la société moderne qui dit on doit modern society which says we must protect the planet,
protéger la planète, prendre l’avion moins souvent, le CO2 take the plane less often, the CO2 and then we see the
et après on voit le trafic augmenter. Et quand je pense traffic increase. And when I think afterwards, all the
après, tous les citoyens de Nantes qui disent ok on doit citizens of Nantes who say ok we have to reduce CO2, and
diminuer le CO2, et après ils prennent l’avion pour le week- then they take the plane for the weekend to go to Portugal
end pour aller au Portugal boire un verre avec des amis. for a drink with friends. It’s not consistent for me, and
C’est pas consistent pour moi, et peut être ça, ça ajoute à maybe that adds to the aggression against noise.”
une agression contre le bruit.”
“J’ai apporté ça du coup: j’ai pris ce que j’avais un peu sous “I brought this: […] it’s a calendar, and I put Sundays in P10, FG1
la main, c’est le mois d’avril, c’est un calendrier, et j’ai mis fluorescent, because Sundays are really much nicer,
en fluo le dimanche, parce que vraiment le dimanche c’est when you open a window in the morning… so here I have
bien plus agréable, quand on ouvre une fenêtre le matin… all the Sundays in April, and then I have a public holiday,
donc là j’ai tous les dimanches du mois d’avril, et puis j’ai and public holidays are even better than Sundays.”
un jour férié, et les jours fériés c’est encore mieux que le
dimanche.”
“Le dimanche matin, le bruit du périph est diminué par “On Sunday mornings, the noise from the ring road is P3, FG1
trois… on a une impression de calme.” reduced by three… you get a feeling of calm…”
“L’entrée du MiN par exemple… des camions qui viennent “The entrance to the MiN for example [national interest P3, FG1
de la route… Ben… y a du passage à 3 h du matin.” market]… lorries coming from the road… Well… there is
traffic at 3 am.”
“Y aura toujours du passage, et pour le bruit ben y aura “There will always be traffic, and for the noise, well, there P7, FG1
toujours une voiture qui va passer et pendant la nuit will always be a car passing by and during the night, as
comme il n’y a pas de trafic elle va passer vite, elle va there is no traffic, it will pass quickly, it will accelerate.”
accélérer.”
“Parce qu’entre 6 h et 7 h en gros c’est là que ça décolle “Because between 6 and 7 o’clock in the morning that’s P2, FG1
le plus.” when it takes off the most.”
“Déjà pendant les enregistrements, c’est quelque chose “Already during the recordings, it’s something quite P8, SDI
d’assez phénoménal, mais le fait d’enregistrer nous ouvre phenomenal, but the fact of recording opens us up to all
à tous les bruits qui nous entourent, ce qui fait que, sur le the noises around us, so that, on a personal level, it’s
plan personnel, c’est plutôt agréable parce que ça renforce rather nice because it reinforces the sense of hearing and
le sens de l’ouïe et de l'écoute.” listening.”
“Les deux premières choses qui m’ont surpris, c’est la “The first two things that surprised me were the rumor, P9, SDI
rumeur, qui était quelque chose qui me gênait depuis which was something that had been bothering me for a
quelques années, et puis quand je l’ai mesurée, je me suis few years, and then when I measured it I realized that it
rendu compte qu’elle n'était pas forte, et le bruit des wasn’t loud, and the noise of the birds, which is really
oiseaux, qui est très fort dans mon jardin et qui ne me gêne loud in my garden and doesn’t bother me at all.”
pas du tout.”
“Alors après un autre truc, c’est SonoRezé qui m’a fait “Then another thing, it’s SonoRezé that made me aware P14, SDI
prendre conscience de ça, c’est le bruit des oiseaux, donc of this, it’s the noise of the birds, so a pleasant noise.
un bruit agréable. Ils sont vachement présents en fait, il y a They are really present, there are a lot of birds.”
vraiment beaucoup d’oiseaux.”
“Pour moi c’est un contraste entre le silence ou des zones “For me it’s a contrast between silence or very quiet P4, SDI
très calmes, parce que là où j’habite il y a beaucoup de areas, because where I live there are a lot of private
maisons particulières, c’est assez calme […], mais après il houses, it’s rather quiet […], but then there are noise
y a des pics de bruit qui arrivent. […] J’entends, non pas le peaks that come. […] I hear, not the ring road, but the
périphérique, mais la route de Pornic je crois. Et ça c’est un road to Pornic I think. And that’s a very diffuse noise,
bruit très diffus, continu, et ça ne me gêne pas trop, mais je continuous, and it doesn’t bother me much, but I think
trouve que les pics sont vraiment pas agréables.” that the peaks are really not pleasant.”
“Toute la zone de promenade le long de Trentemoult parce “The whole walking area along Trentemoult because it’s P8, SDI
que c’est assez bruyant mais ce sont des bruits agréables, quite noisy but it’s nice noises, even if it’s only the
même si ce n’est que le Navibus, c’est un peu le bruit des Navibus, it’s a little boat noise, we’re close to the Loire,
bateaux, on est près de la Loire, il y a des bruits de there are noises of discussions, cheerfulness, it’s lively.”
discussions, de gaieté, c’est vivant.”
(Continued)
22  Arnaud Can et al.

Table A2: Continued

Original citation Translation in English reported in the article Origin of the

citation

“Le périph depuis 2, 3 ans c’est un bruit de fond “The ring road has been a permanent background noise P9, FG1
permanent, surtout le matin, et quand je l’ai mesuré il est for the last 2 or 3 years, especially in the morning, and
pas si fort que ça en fait.” when I measured it, it’s not very loud.”
“Moi j’ai l’impression que tous les bruits qui nous dérange “I have the impression that all the noises that bother us P2, FG1
le plus en fait c’est des bruits qui sont fabriqués, enfin… the most are manufactured noises, not natural noises. It’s
c’est pas des bruits naturels. C’est des choses qu’on subit things that we are subjected to because it’s traffic, it’s
parce que c’est la circulation automobile, c’est les avions, planes… it’s things that are mechanical in fact.”
c’est… c’est des trucs qui sont… mécanique en fait.”
“Avec le projet j’ai commencé à voir les bruits positifs. “With the project I started to see the positive noises. P4, FG2
Parce qu’avant j’avais un très grand focus sur les bruits Because before I had a very big focus on negative noises.
négatifs. Comme cette appli a des petits boutons pour As this app has little buttons for animals, children, I said
animaux, enfants, j’ai dit ok il y a des bruits positifs aussi.” ok there are positive noises too.”
“Maintenant je suis plus attentif aux bruits désagréables “Now I am more attentive to unpleasant noises AND a P4, SDI
ET un peu plus attentif aux bruits agréables, c’est vrai. little more attentive to pleasant noises, that’s true.
Parce qu’avant c'était l’absence totale de bruit que je Because before it was the total absence of noise that I
considérais comme agréable, mais ce n’est pas toujours le considered pleasant, but that is not always the case,
cas, il y a aussi des bruits agréables.” there are pleasant noises too.”
“Pour moi qui suis sur l’avenue Général Leclerc, il y a “For me, who is on the Avenue Général Leclerc, there are P6, SDI
beaucoup de vélos qui passent et je dois avouer que c’est a lot of bicycles that go by and I have to admit that it is a
beaucoup plus silencieux que les voitures, donc c’est plus lot quieter than the cars, so it is more pleasant. So that
agréable. Cela m’a donc permis de mettre en avant les allowed me to highlight the positive points rather than
points positifs plutôt que les points négatifs.” the negative ones.”
“Avant il y avait du bruit je faisais pas trop gaffe, “Before there was noise, I didn’t pay much attention, now P9, FG1
maintenant je fais plus attention.” I pay more attention.”
“Depuis que j’ai la démarche en tête, j’écoute!. En fait, moi “Since I have the approach in mind, I listen! In fact, I’m P13, FG1
ça devient obsessionnel, j’entends le périph…” becoming obsessed; I can hear the ring road…”
“Quand je vais chez des gens ou quand je vais dans un “When I go to people’s houses or when I go to a new P2, FG1
nouveau lieu, tout de suite c’est ‘’est-ce qu’on entend le place, it’s immediately “can we hear the ring road”… and
périph”… et c’est infernal!” it’s hellish!”
“L’autre fois lorsque nous avons fait les mesures […] Il “The other time when we did the measurements […] I just P11, FG2
suffisait que je m’éloigne de 200 m et je ne percevais plus had to move 200 m away and I didn’t perceive the noises
les bruits de cette rue passante.” of this busy street anymore.”
“Il y a la route de Pornic bien s û r. […] mais la route de “There is the road to Pornic of course. […] but the road to P6, SDI
Pornic est désagréable parce qu’elle est très fréquentée.” Pornic is unpleasant because it is very busy.”
“Il y a des endroits paisibles au bord des rivières, de la “There are peaceful places by the rivers, by the Loire or P2, SDI
Loire ou de la Sèvre, un vrai bonheur!” by the Sèvre, a real treat!”
“Bon, ce sont les deux quartiers que je connais bien, et ils “Well, these are the two areas that I know well, and they P4, SDI
sont agréables parce que c’est très vert, la Jaguère il y a are pleasant because it is very green, the Jaguère there is
une petite forêt et on ne voit plus les immeubles, il y a des a small forest and you can no longer see the buildings,
oiseaux et c’est assez calme.” there are birds and it is quite calm.”
“Je fais beaucoup de vélo, alors je ne prends pas ma rue à “I ride my bike a lot, so I don’t take my street by bike, I P1, SDI
vélo, je tourne immédiatement vers une autre, pour mes immediately turn off to another one, for my ears, for my
oreilles, pour ma sécurité…” safety…”
“C’est évident, tous les grands axes sont bruyants à cause It’s obvious, all the main roads are noisy because of the P5, SDI
de la circulation. En revanche, lorsque je vais au marché à traffic. On the other hand, when I go to the market by bike
vélo ou à pied, je m’arrange toujours pour passer par les or on foot, I always manage to go through the back
petites rues peu fréquentées.” streets that are not busy.”
“Je me demande si les modélisations du bruit ont une “I wonder if the noise models are accurate. You see the P4, FG2
précision. On voit les avions en direct, il n’y a rien qui planes directly; there is nothing to stop the noise. On the
arrête le bruit. De l’autre côté de la rue, ma maison bloque other side of the street, my house blocks the noise and for
le bruit et pour les voisins c’est ok.” the neighbors it’s ok.”
“Lorsque les vents sont dominants, on peut entendre le “When the winds are dominant you can hear the P3, SDI
périphérique.” ring road.”

(Continued)
 Urban sound assessment using NoiseCapture as a lever for participation  23

Table A2: Continued

Original citation Translation in English reported in the article Origin of the

citation

“Donc quand c’est un vent d’Est, on a clairement beaucoup “So when it’s an easterly wind, there’s clearly much more P14, SDI
plus de bruit. Quand c’est un vent d’Est on va avoir par noise. When it’s an easterly wind, we’ll have, for example,
exemple le bruit des avions à l’atterrissage qui est the noise of planes landing, which is reduced.”
rabattu.”
“Quand je parle avec des collègues ils me demandent le “When I speak with colleagues, they ask me the problem P4, FG2
problème puor toi c’est le CO2, la pollution?, je réponds non for you is CO2, pollution? I answer no, it’s noise… it is not
c’est le bruit. c’est pas présent dans al société je trouve.” present in the society I find.”
“Parce que je trouvais le sujet intéressant, et puis c’est “Because I found the subject interesting, and then it’s P5, SDI
aussi une façon de participer à la ville de Rezé et à ce qui also a way of participating in the city of Rezé and in what
s’y passe. Je ne peux pas dire que c’est une forme is happening there. I can’t say that it’s a form of
d’engagement parce que l’engagement est faible mais il y commitment because the commitment is weak but there
a un peu de ça, on ne peut pas être que spectateur, de is a bit of that, you can’t just be a spectator, from time to
temps en temps il faut être acteur aussi.” time you have to be an actor too.”
“Ce qui m’intéressait, c'était de pouvoir contribuer à un “I was interested in being able to contribute to a common P8, SDI
projet commun avec une approche assez originale et project with a rather original and innovative approach to
innovante de la prise en compte des nuisances sonores, un taking noise pollution into account, a subject that is not
sujet qui n’est pas forcément mis en avant régulièrement.” necessarily put forward regularly.”
“Je plains les gens qui sont à côté. C’est ponctuel, mais “I feel sorry for the people next door […] It’s a punctual P3, FG2
répété plein de fois…” thing, but it’s repeated many times…”
“Je ne les entends pas chez moi mais je me mettais à la “I don’t hear them at home but I put myself in the place of P12, FG2
place des gens qui se mettaient juste à côté.” the people next door.”
“J’ose pas imaginer les nuisances que ça va provoquer “I can’t imagine the nuisance it will cause to the P11, FG2
pour les populations.” population.”
“Je présume que Pour les riverains ça doit être très “I assume that for the people living nearby it must be very P11, FG2
impactant.” impactful.”
“Y a un bruit qui est apparu y a 2 ans, et au début, moi il “There is a noise that appeared two years ago, at the P10, FG1
me… il me faisant tendre l’oreille tout le temps. Aujourd’hui beginning, it made me strain my ears all the time. Today
c’est devenu LE bruit de la ville telle que j’ai intégrée… c’est it has become THE noise of the city as I have integrated
le bruit du scooter qui s’arrête… et puis, mais qui reste en it… it is the noise of the scooter that stops… and then, that
route, et qui cherche en fait là où il va livrer” looks for where it is going to deliver.”
“Donc très bêtement j’ai cru que je m’échapperais très vite “Very stupidly, I thought that I would escape very quickly P10, FG1
vers le vert en m’installant ici. C’est vrai qu’en 15 ans ça a to the green by settling here. It’s true that in 15 years this
beaucoup évolué cet environnement […] c’était vraiment le environment has changed a lot […] it was really the old
vieux village de Rezé.” village of Rezé.”
“A Ragon y a 15 ans moi je me souviens prendre des petits “In Ragon 15 years ago I remember having breakfast P10, FG1
déjs dehors en semaine… et pas aujourd’hui hein!”. outside during the week… and not today!”
“J’ai été très déçu que la partie le long de la rivière ait été “I was very disappointed that the part along the river had P5, SDI
bétonnée, elle aurait pu devenir un très bel espace vert. been concreted, it could have become a very beautiful
Mais il y a 12 ou 15 ans, ce n'était pas encore à l’ordre du green area. But 12 or 15 years ago it was not yet on the
jour, on bétonnait plus qu’on ne verdissait les villes.” agenda, we concreted more than we greened the cities.”
“Ça c’était ma question aussi, quelle est la nocivité du “That was my question too, how bad is the noise? This P3, FG1
bruit? De ce bruit de fond permanant ou ce bruit permanent background noise or this instantaneous
instantané?” noise?”
“L’électrique pour ça c’est génial, pour le bruit ça peut “Electricity is great for that, for noise it can change a lot of P7, FG1
changer beaucoup de choses.” things.”
“Ils utilisent maintenant une forme de revêtement de “They now use a form of surface coating… when you drive P7, FG1
surface… quand on passe en voiture d’un seul coup c’est by it’s much quieter all of a sudden… have you
beaucoup plus silencieux… vous avez remarqué ça?” noticed that?”
“Je confirme j’habite dans un lotissement on rentre par une “I confirm I live in a housing estate, you come in from a P9, FG2
rue, un rond, on ressort du même endroit, dès qu’on est street, a roundabout, you come out from the same place,
derrière on n’entend rien. Il n’y a pas de passage.” as soon as you’re behind you don’t hear anything. There
is no passage.”
“For me, the main axis that could make the sound evolve P8, SDI
in the city is really not to do 100% road.”

(Continued)
24  Arnaud Can et al.

Table A2: Continued

Original citation Translation in English reported in the article Origin of the

citation

“Pour moi, l’axe principal qui pourrait faire évoluer le son

dans la ville, c’est vraiment de ne pas faire du 100%
routier.”
“Qui accepte qu’on puisse… qu’on construise à 20 m du “Who accepts building 20 m from the ring road? I mean, P3, FG1
périph? Enfin quand même!” come on!”
“On se demande pourquoi c’est interdit d’utiliser la “We wonder why it’s forbidden to use the lawnmower in P4, FG2
tondeuse dans le jardin le dimanche, et pourquoi les the garden on Sundays, and why planes can fly.”
avions peuvent voler.”
“Pour moi on est responsable de ça en fait, en tant que “For me, we are responsible for this, as citizens… it is our P2, FG1
citoyen… c’est notre mode de vie qui crée ce bruit là…” way of life that creates this noise…”
“Je suis plus heureuse à circuler à vélo que circuler en “I’m happier riding a bike than driving a car in the city. P2, FG1
voiture en ville hein! Je suis toujours à l’heure à mes I’m always on time for my appointments, it doesn’t cost
rendez-vous, ça me co û te rien, je fais pas de bruit, je fais me anything, I don’t make any noise, I do some sport.”
du sport.”
“On doit décourager les gens de prendre leur voiture.” “We must discourage people from taking their car.” P2, FG1