Cities with a Positive Evolution on Noise Action Plans Are Requiring a More Accurate Assessment to Advance Towards New Goals. Two Examples: Donostia-San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz

This paper shows the positive evolution during the last 15 years of the noise levels and the population noise exposure for two cities: Donostia-San Sebastian and Vitoria-Gasteiz, located in the Basque Country (Spain). Both cities have a long experience on environmental noise assessment, applying comparable and consistent assessment methods based on noise level calculation at real height on building facade, together with effective action plans on traffic management and mobility. This progressive improvement got, in that period, a reduction of 30% of inhabitants exposed over 55 dB(A) for Ln, reaching values that nowadays are recommending to look at new more ambitious aims for the next action plan, starting to assess population exposed to noise levels according with a calm and healthy city. Having the advantage of detailed statistics population exposition for both cities from at least three noise maps during the last 15 years, it is able to analyse the evolution to support new goals on noise management, and to consider how it will affect to the input data and to the working methodology with calculation models, because accuracy will become more relevant to get representative results.