Towards an acoustic categorization of urban areas in Mexico City

The complexity of large cities requires spatial organization such as the designation of land use, roads, transportation systems, infrastructure and risk areas, etc. The city should be assessed in all of its components.One of the leading problems being analyzed in cities nowadays is environmental noise. Noise maps are the main tool used to study this problem, as they provide solution strategies. In order for these strategies to be effective, urban areas and their sensibility levels to environmental noise should be categorized.Although Mexico City already has a noise map, there is a lack of acoustics standards. Acoustic pollution is severe, and is aggravated particularly by road traffic.From an urban standpoint, Mexico City needs a system of acoustic zones. This paper presents the process developed to establish such categorization based on each zone's activities and their corresponding acoustic sensibility level. The categorization was primarily based on space analysis, demographic studies and acoustic cartography.This categorization is still at a proposal level and is intended to be utilized in the future as part of urban planning strategies for Mexico City.