Evaluation of Environmental Noise in Mexico City - Previous Initiatives and Proposal for Future Improvement

Mexico City is one of the largest cities in Latin America and the world, with over 9 million inhabitants and, according to the WHO, it is also one of the most polluted cities. Although many policies and plans have been implemented with considerably satisfying results, noise pollution remains a problem with little to no attention. There have recently been private and public initiatives to improve people's awareness towards noise and its adverse health effects, with no success; furthermore, the lack of information together with high noise levels in streets, public transportation and even work centres, have led to a generalized insensitivity, resulting in noise regulations of the city not being under strict observation. This study seeks to update and improve environmental noise measurements, to evaluate the current noise pollution conditions in the city, as well as to compare the applicable regulations to the ones from different cities in the world, in order to evaluate their strategies for noise control. Finally, it looks to identify both achievements and flaws of previous initiatives to develop a feasible proposal for the incoming city government to implement.