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As a scientific consequence of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, several initiatives have taken place in order to monitor noise levels trends before and after the lock down phase in several Italian and European cities. In Monza (Italy), since June 2017, a new smart noise monitoring system consisting of 10 sensors developed in the frame of the LIFE MONZA project is continuously measuring acoustic data every second and transmitting them hourly to a dedicated server. The sensors are located both along a main street of the Libertà district characterised by high traffic flows and along secondary streets of the district; they are positioned on (preferably sensitive) buildings facades and on streetlamps.

LIFE MONZA project (Methodologies fOr Noise low emission Zones introduction And management) aims at defining an easy-replicable method for the identification and management of the Noise Low Emission Zones (Noise LEZ), urban areas subject to traffic restrictions, usually introduced in order to ensure compliance with the air pollutants limit values, prescribed by the European Directive on ambient air quality 2008/50/EC, whose impacts and potential benefits regarding noise issues have been taken into account, tested and analysed in a pilot area of the city of Monza, located in North Italy. Noise LEZ has been established in Libertà district, introducing infrastructural interventions carried out by the municipality (top-down actions) and encouraging an active involvement of the citizens, in the definition of a more sustainable lifestyle (bottom-up actions). The analysis of potential effects on noise reduction due to the Noise LEZ can contribute to the implementation of the EU Directive 2002/49/EC, related to the assessment and management of environmental noise (Environmental Noise Directive – END), which introduces noise action plans, designed to manage noise issues and their effects, suggesting the adoption of urban and mobility planning. Noise and air quality monitoring activities have been carried out in pilot area in ante and post-operam conditions. The monitoring methods, the measurement techniques, the analysis procedures, able to describe the effects due to Noise LEZ establishment, for both the main environmental issues are reported in this paper, as proposals to be applied in other different contexts. Results of monitoring activities highlight a reduction of noise, in term of sound pressure levels, between ante and post-operam, during the day and particularly during the night period, and it is essentially due to the interventions realised. The effect of the Noise LEZ on air pollution seems to be negligible for combustion related pollutant and carbon fractions of PM, due both to the moderate spatial effects of the measures undertaken and confounding factors due to concomitant emission sources and meteorology.

Since the 90s, quiet areas have commonly been considered as places to be acoustically preserved or where acoustic interventions should be implemented to reduce noise levels. With the enforcement of the Environmental Noise Directive in 2002, a formal definition of a ‘quiet area in agglomeration’ and a ‘quiet area in open country’ was established. However, many Member States complained about the absence of guidelines regarding the identification and management of quiet areas. The LIFE QUiet Areas Definition and Management in Action Plans (QUADMAP) project started in 2011 to contribute to the Directive’s incomplete requirements for quiet areas. The project’s main result has been the introduction of a flexible methodology for the selection, analysis and management of quiet areas in agglomeration in which both acoustic and nonacoustic parameters are evaluated. The current paper illustrates the analyses carried out on the data collected during the application of the selection, analysis and management phases of the developed methodology in the different pilot cases selected during the Project. Mentioned analysis are aimed at verifying the benefits of the proposed complementary selection criteria (‘relative quiet urban areas’ identification criteria and ‘homogeneous urban areas’ subdivision criteria), at defining the measurement periods most representative of the areas and the acoustic and nonacoustic parameters to be considered as the most significant.

The introduction of Low Emission Zones, urban areas subject to road traffic restrictions in order to ensure compliance with the air pollutants limit values set by the European Directive on ambient air quality (2008/50/EC), is a common and well-established action in the administrative government of cities. The impacts on air quality improvement are widely analysed, whereas the effects and benefits concerning the noise have not been addressed in a comprehensive manner. As a consequence, the definition, the criteria for the analysis and the management methods of a Noise Low Emission Zone are not clearly expressed and shared yet. The LIFE MONZA project (Methodologies fOr Noise low emission Zones introduction And management - LIFE15 ENV/IT/000586) addresses these issues. The first objective of the project, co-funded by the European Commission, is to introduce an easy-replicable method for the identification and the management of the Noise Low Emission Zone, an urban area subject to traffic restrictions, whose impacts and benefits regarding noise issues will be analyzed and tested in the pilot area of the city of Monza, located in Northern Italy. Background conditions, structure, objectives of the project and actions’ progress will be discussed in this article.

Concerning quiet areas, the definition provided by the Environmental Noise Directive (END) is intended to preserve the acoustic environment in those areas where it is considered good, according to general indicators and limits. However, the END is not clear enough to allow appropriate assessment and management in urban environments. The aim of QUADMAP project was to deliver a method and guidelines for the identification, delineation, characterization, improvement and management of Quiet Urban Areas (QUAs) as defined by the END. The Project also wanted to help clarify the definition of a QUA, its meaning and its added value for cities in terms of health, safety and lowering stress levels. In this article, after an introduction of the current European scenario on QUAs, the main aspects of the methodology introduced for the selection, analysis and management of QUAs are described. Eventually, the major results achieved by the Project, in terms of the guideline on QUAs, the implemented interventions and the achieved benefits, are reported and discussed.