An application for measuring and mapping noise pollution

Road traffic, public transport, air traffic, road works, birds, baby cries … all the surrounding noise, whether pleasant or not, can be recorded thanks to the free Android app NBird catching At Resay near Nantes.

The initiative, called SonoRezé, was launched in collaboration with Town Hall University Gustav-Eiffel de Bougainville. Once the sounds are collected, researchers can create a city noise map. This makes it possible to measure noise pollution in particular, which can have real impacts on health, especially in terms of sleep.

According to the World Health Organization, more than a million years of healthy life are lost across Europe each year. This is significant and it comes at a significant cost to the community

Arnaud Kane

Gustav-Eiffel University researcher

Each sound meter is connected to its GPS tracker and the result is displayed on the interactive map in use. In addition to the scientific interest, Rezé Town Hall is creating a dynamic around this noise, as explained by Claire Cuo, the deputy mayor in charge of nature: “What we are interested in is mobilizing a group of citizens who are aware of this noise issue and creating discussion groups as a force for proposal against sound environments.”

Residents who wish to contribute to this research can download the application and continue to register anonymously until next summer.