Maximizing Land Use by Mitigation

Last month, the Canadian Acoustical Association hosted the Acoustics Week in Canada conference in Guelph, Ontario.

This blog post is the first in a short series highlighting some of the research and insights shared there by the RWDI acousticians and engineers. Our presenter tackled the environmental noise topic of reducing land use separation by mitigation. 

Urban intensification puts residential developments and industry at greater risk of conflict by reducing separation distances. Peter VanDelden presented a case study where separation distance was completely traded for a very high sound barrier. It covers the rationale and challenges of using a 13-meter-high sound barrier so that residences could be located immediately next to a community power generation facility. Successful use of noise control measures allows developers and industry to maximize land use and manage the annoyance that could otherwise result from this proximity.