A risk-based approach to precinct planning

As urban populations increase more people being affected by noise. Industrial precincts are a key component of the economy, but they are placed near existing resident. Planning is an important tool to manage the noise exposure from these areas. This paper describes the method we developed to help with deciding where noisy activities, and the amount of mitigation required, to reduce the risk of annoyance from the precinct. Our method is based on modeling the impact from a grid of sources overlayed on the precinct boundary. The transfer functions for each source to all sensitive receiver is calculated using a standard noise propagation model. An optimization algorithm is used to fairly calculate the maximum sound power for each grid point without exceeding the noise management levels. Risk maps are created using contours based on standard industrial sound power densities to define 3 zones: the central, intermediate, and interface. The risk maps are a useful tool for planners for deciding where to locate projects and the amount of mitigation required.