After a nearly two-year editorial process, we are happy to announce that we’ve recently published a technical paper in the peer-reviewed acoustics journal Applied Acoustics. Performed in cooperation with our acoustic colleagues at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, the research explores what happens to noise as it travels over the city canyons formed by streets and backyards between rows of buildings—such as those common in New York City.
Although the details are rather technical, the bottom line is that these canyons reduce noise—so the more street canyons between you and that noisy highway, and the wider these canyons are, the quieter the noise will become.
This field of acoustics research helps to improve the acoustic models that acousticians and city planners use to predict noise. Implemented in software, these models can map out how traffic and new development will impact the soundscape of a property, a neighborhood, or even an entire city.
