Browsing by Author "Santander, Alvaro"
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Item Acoustic management of natural parks: Experience in Armañon Park(2015) Aspuru, Itziar; Garcia, Igone; Gutierrez, Laura; Santander, Alvaro; Fernández, Pilar; Madariaga, Iosu; Uribe, Maria; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTAL; ADAPTACIÓN AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO; Tecnalia Research & InnovationNatural Parks are ecosystems of high value and meet functions of biodiversity conservation, in terms of species and also their soundscape. This paper presents the experience carried out in Armañon Park to integrate variables of noise pollution in the park management tools. The work has two objectives: to prevent biodiversity loss associated with noise interfering natural auditory signals and to enhance the presence of natural sounds as an element of interest to visit the Natural Park. It takes into account not only the noise from outside the park, by consulting noise maps from traditional sources (road traffic, mainly), but it is specially based on the assessment of the noise associated with the uses and activities developed inside the park. The experience carried out in Armañón Park addresses the issue from the two necessary perspectives: identification of areas under preservation against noise pollution and analysis of the acoustic impact on those areas caused by uses and activities in the park. There is a legal framework in the Spanish legislation to define acoustic protection areas (reserve of natural sounds), areas whose sounds are considered subject to preservation for its unique value. The ultimate goal of the project presented in the paper is to have scientifically justified tools to condition the acoustic behavior of activities (farming, ranching, hunting, recreational, etc.) carried out in the park to preserve its biodiversity. Therefore, conclusions of the project will be integrated in the administrative tool that defines the general management plan of the Natural park, as additional requirements to the park activities.Item Analysis of Field Data to Describe the Effect of Context (Acoustic and Non-Acoustic Factors) on Urban Soundscapes(2017) Herranz-Pascual, Karmele; García, Igone; Diez, Itxasne; Santander, Alvaro; Aspuru, Itziar; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTAL; ADAPTACIÓN AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICOThe need to improve acoustic environments in our cities has led to increased interest in correcting or minimising noise pollution in urban environments, something that has been associated with the resurgence of the soundscape approach. This line of research highlights the importance of context in the perception of acoustic environments. Despite this, few studies consider together a wide number of variables relating to the context, and analyse the relative importance of each. The purpose of this paper is therefore to identify the acoustic and non-acoustic characteristics of a place (context) that influence an individual’s perception of the sound environment and the relative importance of these factors in soundscape. The aim is to continue advancing in the definition of an acoustic comfort indicator for urban places. The data used here were collected in various soundscape campaigns carried out by Tecnalia in Bilbao (Spain) between 2011 and 2014. These studies involved 534 evaluations of 10 different places. The results indicate that many diverse contextual factors determine soundscape, the most important being the congruence between soundscape and landscape. The limitations of the findings and suggestions for further research are also discussed.Item Bilbao sound strategy: A comprehensive, flexible and balanced approach(2016-08-21) García, Igone; Aspuru, Itziar; Rincón, Enrique; Santander, Alvaro; Herranz-Pascual, Karmele; ADAPTACIÓN AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTALThe City Council of Bilbao was a pioneering municipality in noise management, becoming the first local government in Spain with its own Noise Ordinance, Noise Map and monitoring system. However, the initial approach to the policy on noise was of a clearly sector-based nature and not proactive. Today the City Council believes one of the keys to adding value to the city and its spaces includes management of the noise factor. To this end, the City Council is deploying a Sound Strategy which is intended to make Bilbao a space where sounds coexist, improving its people's quality of life. The municipality is leading comprehensive, flexible and balanced management of the sound factor in Bilbao through a shared commitment with different role-players in the city and citizenry. This paper introduces key elements within the strategy, as well as the services and applications that contribute to creating the instruments which will further its implementation and development.Item CITI-SENSE: Methods and tools for empowering citizens to observe acoustic comfort in outdoor public spaces(2016-01) Aspuru, Itziar; García, Igone; Herranz, Karmele; Santander, Alvaro; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTAL; ADAPTACIÓN AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICOThe purpose of this research was to design and deploy tools that apply the concept of citizen observatories and empowering citizens in the assessment of acoustic comfort in public places. The research applies an iterative cycle of design and this article presents the results of a demonstrative experiment carried out insitu using the first products developed. This work was undertaken as part of the CITI-SENSE project. A viable technical and procedural solution was designed and tested in a field demonstration, where 53 people were engaged to provide 137 observations in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, using environmental sensors connected to a smartphone. The results have been analyzed and discussed in terms of the product's attractiveness for engaging citizens in the evaluation of acoustic comfort in urban places, the accuracy of the noise levels measured by the acoustic app service integrated into the smartphone, and its ability to obtain simultaneous acoustic and perception data. The results presented in this article are considered a step forward in the research into developing solutions for assessing acoustic comfort. Limitations of the proposed solution are discussed, as are suggestions for further research.Item Empowering people on the assessment of the acoustic comfort of urban places: CITI-SENSE project(2016-08-21) Aspuru, Itziar; García, Igone; Herranz-Pascual, Karmele; Santander, Alvaro; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTAL; ADAPTACIÓN AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICOTecnalia has applied the concept of citizen observatories to empower citizens in the assessment of acoustic comfort in public places. Tools and observation protocols are defined to allow citizens collecting simultaneous objective and subjective data of the sound environment in places of their city known by them. Previous works stated that criteria to define quiet areas should consider not only noise levels, but subjective data also, giving importance to the end-users perception of the area. This work was undertaken as part of the CITI-SENSE project and the solution was tested in a field demonstration, where 53 people were engaged to provide 137 observations in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, using environmental sensors connected to a smartphone.Item Evaluation of acoustic comfort and improvement needs in green spaces in Valencia as a contribution to the Action Plan(SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA DE ACUSTICA - Spanish Acoustical Society, SEA, 2019) Herranz-Pascual, Karmele; Aspuru, Itziar; Garcia, Igone; Santander, Alvaro; Calvo-Manzano, Antonio; Delgado, Ana; Perez-Lopez, Antonio; Santiago, Jose Salvador; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTAL; ADAPTACIÓN AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICOThe city of Valencia wants to incorporate in the city's next Noise Action Plan the positive perspective that considers the soundscape. As a first step, the degree of acoustic comfort of the urban spaces most used by the citizens was evaluated. The diagnosis was focused on the districts where population values the tranquillity of their neighbourhood with a lower score. The Results of the Barometer of public opinion were analysed, both to select the districts to analyse, and to know the use of the green spaces in each zone. The paper presents the results of the acoustic comfort assessment and the improvement needs of the selected spaces. The work focuses specifically on the acoustic variable but adds a holistic perspective of Urban Comfort in urban environment. TECNALIA combined in this work a methodology based on expert judgment or observation of subjective variables that characterize the environmental comfort (CUP-Lite), which includes the inquiry of the opinion of users on aspects that can be improved. In parallel, a collaborative evaluation process was opened with the ComfortUP! App, which is an application that allows users to collect their opinions on environmental comfort.Item Indicators of environmental comfort sensitive to human perception(IGI Global, 2018-01-05) Garcia, Igone; Herranz-Pascual, Karmele; Aspuru, Itziar; Gutierrez, Laura; Acero, Juan Angel; Santander, Alvaro; ADAPTACIÓN AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTAL; Tecnalia Research & InnovationThis chapter introduces environmental experience as a theoretical framework that describes people's perceptions of urban places. Its aim is to describe indicators that quantify how people perceive urban environmental conditions and evaluate its level of comfort. Factors considered in the environmental comfort assessment are soundscape, thermal comfort, and natural light quality, and indicators that quantify these factors are presented and discussed. Projects are also described where environmental comfort assessments have been incorporated into urban design or management strategies. Lastly, examples are presented of ICT tools that facilitate participative observation of public places. The chapter concludes with suggestions to raise awareness of the importance of perception-driven approaches in urban assessment and design. Main conclusion is that there is a need to build consensus on the methods to address subjectivity and to exchange experiences showing the potential of these studies.Item Integrating Soundscape Criteria in Urban Sustainable Regeneration Processes: An Example of Comfort and Health Improvement: An Example of Comfort and Health Improvement(2022-03-08) Herranz-Pascual, Karmele; Iraurgi, Ioseba; Aspuru, Itziar; Garcia-Pérez, Igone; Santander, Alvaro; Eguiguren, José Luis; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; CALIDAD Y CONFORT AMBIENTAL; SGThis paper reports an example of an urban sustainable regeneration process in a small open square following the soundscape approach in urban design and involving a transdisciplinary team. The renovation of this urban public space brought changes in its acoustic environment and improved soundscape perception as much more pleasant (enhanced comfort). The rehabilitation broadened the use of the square and enhanced users’ wellbeing and health, showing a significant positive impact of sound: reduction in negative emotions and perceived stress while increasing positive feelings. To conclude, the implications of the results about restorative environments in urban sound planning and future areas of research are discussed.