Due to my experience with NYC 311 and studying various pollution factors in New York City, I feel that this article has especial relevance to me. While working for 311, I personally handled hundreds of noise complaint calls that had a myriad of origins. According to the New Yorker article, noise complaints from the city could come from frequent nuisances such as loud parties or off-hours construction, but could also originate from loud ice cream trucks or barking dogs. The variety of sources of sound pollution in New York City makes this type of pollution and negative social factor even tougher to remedy.
New York City plays as a host to many different types of people; all who register on some form of spectrum or another. Unfortunately, for people who care about their sleep, one of the many spectra range from quiet to loud. For this reason, I feel that a panacea for noise pollution will have to come from technological and infrastructural developments. For example, buildings may have to be restructured on the outside to contain more noise from traffic and construction. Furthermore, the interiors of buildings can be designed to keep more of the noise inside the room if people are talking loudly or partying through the night.
Implementing new urban design methods and technologies into our structures should not be a challenging task. As we covered already in our seminar, Sweden has already started incorporating more of an ecological balance in its cities by planting more trees and creating more green spaces. In turn, Sweden’s average decibel level has decreased across its urban areas. We could learn from other nations and their efforts to reduce noise, but we have other solutions as well. New developments in technology and incorporating them into existing and new structures can reduce noise levels and 311 noise complaints around the city.
