QUADMAP

QUADMAP event in Bilbao

henkwolfert — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:36:32 +0000

In the afternoon of 17 February (at 19:30pm), the municipality of Bilbao (with the collaboration of Tecnalia) has organized a public event (with citizens of Bilbao) to explain the results of QUADMAP project. Information about this event is available on the websites of Bilbao and TECNALIA. The link to the event in Bilbao municipality’s website can be found here and to the Tecnalia’s web site here. In the case of the TECNALIA link also an url to a video is included. This video that has been developed to present the results of QUADMAP in Bilbao (in Spanish) in the framework of dissemination activities of Tecnalia.

Closing Conference QUADMAP, 19 and 20 February 2015.

henkwolfert — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 09:22:01 +0000

On 19 and 20 February 2015 the closing conference of the QUADMAP project will be held in Rotterdam. During this closing conference the guideline on identification, delineation and management of quiet urban areas will be presented. Besides the presentation of the guideline also the demonstration projects will be presented by the cities of Florence, Bilbao and Rotterdam. The final programme will be published on this website in September next. Registration will be open from the mid of September 2014. Participation is free of charge.

Finding Europe’s quiet areas at EEA

webmaster — Mon, 12 May 2014 13:49:32 +0000

At least 110 million people are adversely affected by noise from Europe’s busiest roads alone. People need to escape this pollution and access quiet places to work, relax and live a healthy life. Such ‘quiet areas’ should be protected under EU legislation, but how does this work in practice?

Valorisation Workshop Paris 21 January 2014

henkwolfert — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 09:20:28 +0000

Workshop for the evaluation of the transferability and applicability of experiences carried out as part of the QUADMAP project in France as meant in Action C10, see elsewhere on this website.

This event is directly related to the objective of action C10. The workshop will be moderated by Ms Lucie Echaniz and Mr Piotr Gaudibert, both from Bruitparif and Ms Thea Manola and Ms Nathalie Gourlot both from Politopie. Politopie is a team of sociologists, architects and town planners usual familiar with interactive works with the representatives of local authorities.

Target audience:

From 15 until 50 representatives (technical staff and elected officials) from local authorities attempting to roll out the END 2002/49/EC in France. These bodies are nowadays preparing their Noise Action Plans. Aim of the workshop is to obtain information from the participants in order to find out the progress of their environmental Noise Action Plan and also what choices they have made or will make regarding the QUAs in the towns represented.

Agenda:

The workshop (10.00 am to 1.00 pm) will be held in rooms of the ASIEM (Association Immobilière de l’EcoleMilitaire) in the 7^th Arrondissement of Paris. All discussions will be recorded to facilitate the preparation of minutes.

The agenda will be based on a flexible timetable (in progress / approval due on 15 January 2014) divided into several progressive sessions, based on set objectives.

Round table
- Objectives: Set the framework for discussions in order to avoid “wasting” time and to involve everyone right from the start.
Quadmap’s approach/methodological process
- Objective: Evaluate the transferability, usuability and appropriability of the QUADMAP approach in France (not the scientific rigor). NB: We are not looking here for an evaluation of the overall content of the QUADMAP approach itself.
The interventions and design solutions carried out
- Objective: Evaluate the transferability and appropriability of solutions suggested in QUADMAP’s three pilot towns (Bilbao, Florence, Rotterdam) in France.
The recommendation game
- Objective: Assimilation by participants of information and prospects for action (and adaptation) in Île-de-France

The final timetable, and in particular the choice of activities (e.g. one or several groups, types of games) will depend on the number of participants. A final agenda will be sent to all participants that have registered.

The outcomes of this workshop will be published on this website soon after the workshop (in English)

Registration:

Registration by sending an e-mail to piotr.gaudibert@bruitparif.fr or lucie.echaniz@bruitparif.fr

Language: French

Outcomes Bilbao meeting

henkwolfert — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 09:54:28 +0000

On 26 November 2014 the project group has held a meeting in Bilbao. During that meeting the outcomes of the ante operam survey in the selected pilot areas was discussed and the also the so called midterm report. All participants have been present during the meeting. After the welcome on behalf of Bilbao the chair Mr Francesco Borchi elucidated the midterm report that was sent to all partners. The main conclusions regarding this midterm report are (briefly):

The questionnaires will be published on this website as well
The website will be completed with presentations held in Bilbao
The website will be completed with presentations translated into Dutch and Spanish (before end 2014)
LIFE+ stickers are requested at the LIFE+ organisation
In 2014 a workshop will be held in Florence on quiet urban areas
More attention will be paid to the role of the Scientific Advisory Committee

After the discussions about the midterm report a presentation was given by Bilbao (Ms Igone Garcia and Ms Itziar Aspuru Soloaga) regarding the two pilot areas. Bilbao strives to create numerous ‘sonic islands’ in their municipality. By Ms Garcia two QUA’s were presented. The General la Torre square which is currently under reconstruction and the peri-urban QUA (Santa Marina). The first is a busy and noisy square that will be refurbished to a more pedestrian friendly area which a fountain that can be operated automatically (software) which hopefully will mas or at least distract the attention from the traffic noise. An impression of the future situation of the General La Torre square can be seen at the PowerPoint presentations elsewhere on this website. The second QUA, santa Marina, a peri-urban area is a very green area with a lot of birds. The noise levels are rather low (< 50 dB) and beside the natural noise that can be heard, the rumble of the city is also be audible. By changing the bio-diversity more wildlife can be atracted. The area is quite attractive for walking, hiking and cycling. More information can be obtained from the presentation.

By Mr Henk Wolfert (DCMR EPA) a brief presentation has been given on the two Rotterdam QUA’s (Southern park and Spinoza Park). The Southern park is an area that has at least 5 sub-areas (walking-resting area, event-area, sports-area, recreative area, garden area). Only the sub-area near the Groen Kruisweg (a busy road) has been surveyed and inventoried. Noise levels are quite low in that area when not staying near to the road. By employing a quiet road surface on the road, the noise situation can be improved. The other park, the Spinoza park is not so quiet because it is surrounded by busy roads. Noise levels are higher than 55 dB Lden. From the surveaays conducted in both areas it was found that some questions can be skipped, they do not deliver reliable results. The indicators found to be the most applicable to describe a quiet area so far are:

Presency of natural elements
Accessibility of the QUA
Presency of visual elements
Maintenance of the QUA, it should be well kept
The sound in the QUA should be better compared to the sound in the immediate vicinity of the QUA

By Ms Raffaella Bellomini (Vienrose) the outcomes of the pilots have been presented. Six schoolyards were investigated. These six pilot areas are already mentioned elsewhere on this website. Noise levels are not so low due to the traffic passing on the surrounding roads. Noise produced by the pupils is not considered as annoying by the people living nearby. The survey was simplified in order to request the pupils about their perception. Most of the interviewees are pupils. The others are teachers and parents of the school children. Some interventions that are desigend are vertical gardens (noise barriers with green) and black boards. More information can be found in the presentation elsewhere on this website.

Subsequently UNIFI (Ms Chiara Bartalucci) presented their thoughts about data mining and evaluation in order to see whether the preliminary methodology did work in the pilots. Discussions have been held about the application of a Common Noise Index, the noise gradient, the number of events (NA70 or NA80), including or excluding the noise of children (schoolyards) or not, simplifying the questionnaire, to shorten the questionnaire, determining the data obtained form school children and those obtained from adults and check relialibiliy, consistency and reproducability, et cetera. By Bruit Parif (Mr Piotr Gaudibert) who is repsonsible for the internationalization and valorisation of the project outcomes, a brief explanation was given. Shortly a working group will meet in Paris which will evaluate and discuss this part of the project. The proposed approach will be sent to all partners.

The closing conference of QUADMAP will be held in spring 2015 in Rotterdam, probably in February. The organisation is a responsibility of DMR EPA. It is considered to have a meeting in the beginning of 2014 in Paris in order to discuss the first analysis of the data done by UNIFI. This analysis will be ready end of 2014.

All presentations of the meeting will be published soon at this website in English and partners language (Dutch, Italian, French and Spanish).

Meeting project group in Bilbao

henkwolfert — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 08:49:59 +0000

The QUADMAP project group has planned to meet in Bilbao on 26 November 2013. During this meeting the outcomes of the questionnaires (see elsewhere on this weblog) will be presented and discussed together with the results of the noise measurements that have been carried out in the selected pilot areas. The draft agenda that has been disseminated among the partners comprises the next agenda points.

DRAFT AGENDA

09:30 hr Opening and announcements of the project manager
09:30 hr Presentation of Mid Term Report (UNIFI)
10:30 hr Presentation about pilot cases in Bilbao, results of the ante-operam data collection (BILBAO and TECNALIA)
10:50 hr Presentation about pilot cases in Firenze, results of the ante-operam data collection (FIRENZE and VIENROSE)
11:10 hr Presentation about pilot cases of Rotterdam, results of the ante-operam data collection (DCMR EPA)
11:30 hr Presentation of drafted procedure for data analysis on the ante-operam surveys and first results of its application (UNIFI)
12:00 hr Sharing experiences in applying the method and discussion the drafted procedure proposed for data analysis
12:30 hr Proposals for internationalization of design solutions (BRUITPARIF)
13:00 hr Break for lunch
14:00 hr Updating on next technical and dissemination activities (5 min each partner)
14:30 hr Deadlines, evaluation of Self Monitoring Forms transmitted in October 2013 (UNIFI)
15:00 hr Final discussion en renumeration of the decisions made
16:00 hr Preparations for the closing conference (DCMR EPA)
16:15 hr End of the meeting

The results of the Bilbao meetingwill be published soon on this website.

News update

henkwolfert — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 12:48:59 +0000

On the 23^rd of January the QUADMAP team has met in Brussels to continue the discussions that were held during the Paris meeting, see elsewhere on this website. Result of this discussions was a state of the art report that was approved by all members of the QUADMAP team. In this state of the art report the draft methodology was presented. This methodology, based on the questionnaires that were set out among various European governments, includes a definition for quiet areas, methods for selection and how to analyse the identified potential quiet urban area but also criteria for short and long term measurements to be conducted in those potential quiet urban areas.

Later this year a number of pilot areas have been selected in Bilbao, Florence and Rotterdam and by means of a questionnaire the perception of the visitors was questioned. The questionnaire was drafted in advance and agreed among the partners. In the same time noise measurements have been carried out to link the perceptions to noise levels. After applying interventions on or near those pilot areas the questionnaire will be conducted again in order to determine whether these interventions will result in a – perceived- better acoustic environment.

During the AIA-DAGA meeting in Merano and during the QSIDE workshop that was organised in conjunction spring meeting of Working Group Noise EUROCITIES in Lyon the QUADMAP project and the progress booked was presented. A set of photo’s of the selected pilot areas will be uploaded on this website as soon as possible!

Project Meeting III

henkwolfert — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:43:33 +0000

The second meeting of the project group is scheduled at 28 November at the office of BruitParif in Paris. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the meeting of Working Group Noise EUROCITIES and the congress “Management and Prevention of Noise in large European Cities”.More information about EUROCITIES and the congress can be obtained by contacting henk wolfert, chair of the working group (henk.wolfert@dcmr.nl)

Urban Noise Management

henkwolfert — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:47:55 +0000

On the 24th of January a symposium will be held about Urban Noise Management. During the morning session seven papers will be presented by a number of speakers, during the afternoon a workshop is organized about state of the art of urban noise life+ projects. Venue is Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Life+ projects that are to be discussed are HUSH, NADIA and QUADMAP. More information can be obtained via the EAA site.

Project meeting II

henkwolfert — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:00:37 +0000

On the 23rd of January the second meeting of the Quadmap project group will be held in Florence. During this meeting the progress on the activities will be reported and discussed. The project group also will discuss and approve the final questionnaire that is drafted by the partners. The most important points will be reported on this website soon after the 23rd here.