On 11th July, the workshop The projects LIFE carried out in Italy on environmental noise pollution: the results achieved, ongoing experiences and future development was held at the Università degli Studi of the city of Florence, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the programme LIFE and share the common topics faced.

 

On 11^th July, the workshop The projects LIFE carried out in Italy on environmental noise pollution: the results achieved, ongoing experiences and future development was held at the Università degli Studi of the city of Florence, to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the programme LIFE and share the common topics faced.

 

The workshop saw the presence of the eight projects which have received a co-financing from the European Commission by the means of the Programme LIFE since 2008 with their Italian beneficiary coordinator. They have dealt with the environmental problems related to noise pollution since 2008

Here below, as requested, some brief notes related to the presented projects:

 

H.U.S.H.  – LIFE08 ENV/IT/000386 -  LIFE Harmonization of Urban noise reduction Strategies for Homogeneous action plans. The main objective of this project is to contribute to the harmonization of the national rules and regulations for noise management with what stated in the European Directive 49/2002. This decree makes reference to the determination and management of environmental noise, starting from the realization of studies and interventions in the city of Florence, considered as a pilot case. Common methods for planning specific and strategic solutions have been defined; a new development system has been identified (procedures and databanks) for planning the action by the means of experimentation of pilot cases. The Guidelines for an integrated planning of noise pollution in urban areas have been published   

http://www.hush-project.eu/it/index.html

 

NADIA – LIFE 09 ENV IT 000102 -   Noise Abatement Demonstrative and Innovative Actions and information to the public -  The project involved the provinces of Genoa and Savona, the cities of Vicenza and Prato and CIRIAF (Interuniversity Centre for the Research on Pollution from Physical Agents) of the city of Perugia. The noise of the main provincial roads has been verified in the provinces of Genoa and Savona and in the urban centre of the city of Vicenza. Critical areas have been identified, paying particular attention to “sensitive” locations (Schools, retirement homes, clinics etc.). An innovative Action Plan has subsequently been drafted. This plan provides for the participation of the population and of the main stakeholders present on the territory and at national level. Moreover, recovery pilot interventions have been carried out (installation of barriers, laying of sound-absorbing asphalts, installation of high-performing soundproofing windows in schools). Technical seminars and lessons in schools have also been organised.

http://www.nadia-noise.eu/

 

QUADMAP  - Life 10 ENV/IT/000407 - QUiet Areas Definition and Management in Action Plans

The main objective of this project is overcome the current deadlock by the means of the development of a harmonised methodology for the selection, evaluation and management of quiet areas. The evaluation shall take into account both quantitative and qualitative parameters. The interventions are aimed at obtaining noise mitigation, a better availability of the areas and greater users’ satisfaction. The project is centred on the problem of silence in urban areas, where noise is one of the main sources of pollution and one of the main causes of citizens’ discomfort. The final results of the project will help urban developers to apply standard procedures for the identification, analysis and definition of intervention priorities of the QUAs (“Quiet Urban Areas”).

http://www.quadmap.eu/it/

 

GIOCONDA – LIFE13 ENV/IT 000225 -  Young People matter in the decisions on environment and health. GIOCONDA wants to involve young people as protagonists of a participative democratic action. The choice of dedicating the project to young people is based on several factors. Many scientific researches and prevention tools concern young people, but they do not involve them. The young people of today will have a role in the near future as decision makers, in order to improve both environment and health. Finally, their perception of environmental risks makes us better understand the ideas, the attitude and hopes of all society. The final product of GIOCONDA is a tool capable of helping public administrations to take decisions on health and environment in an informed way, bearing in mind young people’s opinion and the one of their families as well as local environmental data. The areas the project GIOCONDA has been carried out are: the city of Ravenna, the Valdarno Inferiore (Castelfranco di Sotto, Montopoli in Val d’Arno, San Miniato and Santa Croce sull’Arno), Naples and Taranto. The main environmental problems taken into consideration are air and noise pollution, which affect also the citizens’ health in urban areas.

http://gioconda.ifc.cnr.it/

 

DYNAMAP  - LIFE13 ENV IT 001254 - Dynamic Acoustic Mapping – Development of low cost sensors networks for real time noise mapping.

 DYNAMAP is a LIFE+ project which has the aim of developing a dynamic acoustic mapping to record and represent the acoustic impact generated by road infrastructure in real time. The main objective of this project consists in facilitating and reducing the cost of the periodic update of acoustic maps, which the European Directive 2002/49/EC on environmental noise expects to be carried out every 5 years. To this aim, the project provides for the development and installation of an automatic monitoring system (based on personalised low-cost sensors and a software on GIS platform) on two pilot areas located in Rome (Italy), along the A90 motorway (the so-called: “Grande Raccordo Anulare”), and inside Milan’s urban area. The systems will consequently be subject to extensive monitoring for a year to verify their reliability, efficacy and efficiency.

http://www.life-dynamap.eu/

 

NEREIDE -  LIFE15 ENV/IT/000268 - Noise Efficiently REduced by recycleD pavements

The project LIFE NEREiDE wants to test the use of new porous road surfaces with low noise emissions composed of recycled asphalt and rubber powder recycled from End-of-Life Tyres. These materials will be warm mixed with some binding elements in order to produce bitumen mixes with specific advantages:

•reduce the disposal of waste materials, which, in this way, will be recycled; reduce the use of virgin raw materials (thus promoting resource efficiency and correct waste management);

•obtain better acoustic performances than the current ones, thus allowing a meaningful reduction of noise in urban areas and an improvement of citizens’ health;

•improve safety in urban areas by the means of draining surfaces with good superficial texture;

•reduce air pollution during asphalt laying.

http://www.nereideproject.eu/it

 

BRENNER LEC- LIFE15 ENV/IT/000281- BRENNER Lower Emissions Corridor

BrennerLEC is the abbreviation of Brenner Lower Emissions Corridor. BrennerLEC aims at making the transiting vehicular traffic on the Brenner more respectful of the health of the people who live there and more compatible with the characteristics of the territory, in order to protect the particular alpine environment crossed by the motorway. The project BrennerLEC places itself in the context of an area as sensitive as the Alps are. Its objective is to create “a Lower Emission Corridor (LEC) along the Brenner motorway, in order to obtain a clear environmental benefit for what concerns air and climate protection, as well as a reduction of noise pollution.

The reduction of polluting emissions is achieved by the means of the following strategies:  

1. traffic flow management during intense traffic moments with a combination of dynamic speed reduction and activation of the dynamic lane;

2. dynamic management of the maximum speed allowed based on air quality;

3. management of traffic flows in proximity of the main urban centres with the help of “Intelligent” signalling.

http://brennerlec.life/

 

LIFE MONZA – LIFE15 ENV/ IT/000586- Methodologies for Noise Low Emission Zone Introduction and Management

The introduction of the Low Emission Zones (LEZs) is common practice in cities’ management. LEZs are urban areas subject to road traffic limitations in order to guarantee the respect of the limit values of air pollutants stated by the Directive on air quality and environment (2008/50/EC). Their positive impact on air quality have been widely analysed. On the contrary, the effects and potential benefits with reference to noise pollution have not been sufficiently studied yet. The definition and the criteria to adopt for the creation and management of the Noise Low Emission Zones are still not clearly defined and shared. The Project LIFE MONZA faces those issues. Its main objective is to introduce an easily replicable method for the identification and management of Noise Low Emission Zones subject to traffic limitation, whose impacts and benefits will be analysed and tested in the pilot city of Monza.

http://www.lifemonza.eu