Analysis of the prediction capacity of a categorization method for urban noise assessment

A street categorization method to study urban noise was tested by comparing its results and predictive capacity with those of a reference method – the standard grid method (mentioned in the ISO 1996 standard). To this end, two independent noise surveys were carried out simultaneously in the city of Cáceres (Spain), each using one of these two methods. In a first step, the overall values of each procedure were obtained and the differences analyzed. Then, to analyze the predictive capacity of the categorization method, the two noise maps were constructed, and their predicted values (the noise levels of the squares of the grid for the grid method, and of the categories for the categorization method) were compared with the data of the other procedure used as control. It was found that the categorization method yielded similar results for the overall analysis of the city to those obtained with the value of the points of the grid method with considerably fewer sampling points. The categorization method also seems to be a more suitable predictor for new measurements, particularly for levels in the noisiest streets of the town.