Sound perception of the space inhabited during COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: relations with demographic data Poliana Lopes de Oliveira 1 Program in Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil. E. Felipe Vergara 2 Program in Mechanical Engineering and the Postgraduate Program in Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil. Gildean do Nascimento Almeida 3 Program in Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil. gildean_fsa@hotmail.com Maria Lúcia da Rosa Oiticica 4 Program in Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil. mloiticica@hotmail.com Jordana Teixeira da Silva 5 Program in Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil. jordana.teixeira@ifal.edu.br Elisabeth de Albuquerque Cavalcanti Duarte Gonçalves 6 Program in Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil. elisabeth.goncalves@arapiraca.ufal.br

ABSTRACT Changes in the sound environment of cities during COVID-19 pandemic period are consequences caused by the distance restrictions implemented by public administrators. However, how can we bet- ter qualify and/or understand this casualty in the sound perception of environment in a context of social distancing? In this sense, the present work aims to analyze the impact of social distancing on the sound perception of the inhabited environment in Brazil, investigating the relations between sound perception and demographic data. In this work, an online questionnaire was elaborated and applied using digital tools in order to obtain 1,769 participants from the five Brazilian regions, from

1 polianalopes.ufal@gmail.com

2 e.f.vergara@ufsc.br.

3 gildean_fsa@hotmail.com

4 mloiticica@hotmail.com

5 jordana.teixeira@ifal.edu.br

6 elisabeth.goncalves@arapiraca.ufal.br

worm 2022

May to June 2020. However, according to the sound perception of the inhabited environment, ap- proximately half of the interviewees pointed out that the noise decreased, both inside the building and in the surroundings. Therefore, it was possible to establish a relationship between noise reduc- tion and Brazilian regions with stricter social distancing requirements. This work is expected to ob- tain contributions on the possible effects of the pandemic in the inhabited environment. 1. INTRODUCTION

The social distancing caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus - COVID-19 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 - SARSCoV-2) has caused changes in the dynamics of cities worldwide. The virus of pandemic range initially recognized in China, reached 187 countries on all continents [1], causing a global public health crisis, evidencing a rapid spread and wide spectrum of severity [2]. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly declared the out- break of the novel coronavirus a health emergency of international concern [3]. This declaration was associated with several recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus, such as measures of distance, social isolation, closing establishments and public spaces and quarantine in case of suspi- cious symptoms.

In this sense, investigations from different areas are being carried out in order to understand the changes in the dynamics of societies during the pandemic period. Architecture, urbanism and engi- neering, as they study the relationships between individuals and space, may support efforts to develop new knowledge about the impact of a pandemic on the built environment and, consequently, on so- ciety.

Measures to restrict the use of public and collective spaces have led to a decrease in the sound pressure levels (SPL) of noise by reducing circulation, work and leisure. "Stay-at-home" decreased the SPLs of the cities and evidenced previously masked sounds in human auditory perception [4].

The noises were minimized because of the reduction of the flow of vehicles, closing of airports, leisure buildings, temples, schools, commercial establishments, among others. Thus, individuals be- gan to perceive different sounds in the cities. Point sources, previously masked by traffic noise, were evidenced, such as sounds of neighbours, civil construction works, children, birds, among others [5]. In this context of changes in the sound environment of cities during the pandemic, this research emerged, which occurred in the period from May 08 to June 08, 2020.

Given this context, some questions prompted this investigation, such as: what are the implications for the sound perception of social distancing measures? Could the pandemic alter the understanding of the sound environment? Are there relationships between demographic data and sound perception in this period of isolation? From these questions, we designed a structured 35-question online ques- tionnaire that included three facets to collect data: demographic information, housing environment (internal and external) and sound perception. In order to discuss these and other issues, this paper aims to analyse the sound perception of the inhabited space in the scenario of social distancing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the states of Brazil, thus seeking relationships between sound percep- tion and demographic data. The demographic data analyzed were related to age, gender, health, edu- cation level and region. It is expected with this work, to obtain possible contributions about the sound perception in the face of the social isolation caused by the pandemic, both in architecture (building) and in the urban scale (city).

worm 2022

2. METHOD

The methodology adopted to understand the impact of the social distancing caused by the pandemic in the Brazilian sound environment is based on the construction and application of a questionnaire.

2.1. Development of the questionnaire

The questionnaire was designed with subjective and objective questions of multiple choice, to inves- tigate the relations of individuals (respondents) with the noise environment during the pandemic pe- riod, caused by COVID-19 and applied in the period from 08 May to 08 June 2020.

For the multiple choice questions, the Likert scale was used which measures behavioural attitudes, using response options ranging from one extreme to another. The answers considered a scale from 1 to 5, being 1 (Very Noisy), 2 (Noisy), 3 (Adequate), 4 (Quiet) and 5 (Very Quiet).

The questionnaire was composed of ordered questions and the questions were arranged by themes, herein referred to as facets. To prepare the questionnaire, two main facets were determined: demo- graphic and sound perception.

2.2. Application of the questionnaire

The questionnaire was structured in the online platform Google Forms and the online form was adopted as a viable tool for data collection during the period of social isolation. The questionnaire was disseminated through social networks, by the Council of Architecture and Urbanism and by PróAcústica - Brazilian Association for Acoustic Quality. A total of 1,769 answers were collected. The link to access the online questionnaire is available at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSelLpe- jwVw3bzmnpB3X9uQ_hV5EZryst9DSMVHKzqmSdQSXDg/viewform.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The results of the questions related to demographic data (Age, Gender, Health and Education) and perception of the noise environment are presented. The perception of noise was assessed on a scale from 1 to 5 and by two questions: a) Classify the noise inside your home; b) Classify the intensity of the noise in the area where you live.

3.1. Demographics and perception of the noise environment

4.1.1 Age The statistical data by age was divided into six groups, with the first group starting at 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and ending with the group of over 70 years old. In relation to the respondents, there was a greater concentration of answers in the 18-39 age group (64%), highlighting the great contribution of the young people. The respondents between 40 and 59 years old concentrated 26.6% of the total opinions. For the non-elderly group (under 60 years old) there is a magnitude of 90.6%. Respondents over 60 years old (elderly range) correspond to 9.4% of opinions. The sound perception of the respondents by age range, related to noise annoyance, inside the building and around the external environment is described in Figure 1. The results show that the average of the answers, considering the adopted scale, remained between 3.2 and 4.0 for the annoyance inside the building, and between 3.0 and 3.4 for those annoyed in the surroundings. This indicates that most of the interviewees perceived the noise inside and outside the building as Adequate (grade 3) and Quiet (grade 4). The age group above 70 years old considered the internal environment both Quiet

worm 2022

(40.9%) and Very Quiet (41.3%), and the surrounding environment was chosen as Quiet by 50.8% of the participants. The highest concentration of Very Noisy (grade 1) and Noisy (grade 2) is observed between 18 to 49 years old. 4.1.2 Gender

Figure 2 shows the distribution of respondents' answers for the Females, Males and Others gen- ders. The majority of the opinions were of the Female gender with 68% of responses and Male with 31.9%. The option Others (18-39 years) was not representative in the evaluation.

The distribution of answers on the perception of noise annoyance, by gender, inside the building and around the external environment, shows in Figure 2 that the average responses remained around grade 3, which suggests that both females and males perceived the environments as mostly Adequate. Female and male participants considered the sound perception in the building and its surroundings as Noisy (14.6% to 20.4%).

The answers by gender and age are concentrated on the groups between 18 and 39 years old, with 43.7% (Female) and 20.2% (Male). The 40 to 59 years old group concentrates 18.39% (Female) and 8.17% (Male). The non-elderly group showed Female (62.1%) and Male (28.4%) gender. The elderly were the lowest percentage, with Female (5.9%) and Male (3.5%).

4.1.3 Health The respondents (96.6%) reported not having a disability and 3.4% (60 respondents) confirmed hav- ing a physical disability (see Figure 3). The disabilities mentioned were of the type: hearing (11), visual (6), vocal (2), limbs (16), mental (3) and other (3). The 18-39 age group concentrated 62.4% of the answers that did not have a disability, but this age group also had disability with 1.6%. The groups 40-59 years old account for 25.4% of the responses without disability and with disability 1.1%. For the age group up to 69 years old, there is an increase in the answers with no disability, reaching 32.9% of the total, approximately half of the answers in the group 18-39 years old. The group with disabilities, in the group above 60 years of age, represents 0.7%. It can be seen that the respondents with disabilities, the elderly or over 60 years old represent 20% and 80% for the non-elderly (18-59 years old). The average of the responses remained between 3.1 and 3.4, indicating that the noise was perceived as Adequate and Quiet for 61% and 68% of respondents, in the building and in the surroundings, respectively. However, the group that declared to have disabilities, considered the noise perception inside the dwelling as Quiet (39.2%). The sound perception as Noisy for the group without and with disabilities was 15% (building) and 19% (surroundings). Noise annoyance was greater outside the building for groups without and with deficiency, with 28% (Noisy and Very Noisy). For the COVID-19 risk group, 73.1% of the participants answered Yes and 26.9% No (Fig. 4). The distribution of the answers about the perception of noise annoyance in relation to the degree of risk to the respondents' health, inside the building and around the environment outside the building, showed an average between 3.1 and 3.5. Thus, the two groups (without and with degree of risk) classify the perception of noise as Adequate and Quiet (29.5% to 35.2%). Also, the group without risk (20.8%) classified the perception in the building as Very Quiet. Both risk groups were more annoyed with the noise in the surroundings than in the building, since the perceptions Very Noisy and Noisy are 28.9% (No) and 26.5% (Yes) of the total opinions.

worm 2022

worm 2022

Figure 1: Sound perception of the respondents by age group, related to noise annoyance, inside the

dwelling and in the surroundings of the external environment.

‘Age Sound perception inthe building 18029 inthe building 30039 asa 29% 282% ™ 2, Inthe building 40049 15,3% in surroundi 300% es oe i sous 719% in surroun & — mamuch noise manoise miadequate misilent mavery silent «media

Figure 2: Sound perception of the respondents by gender, related to noise annoyance, inside the

building and around the outside environment.

Gender Sound Perception inthe Building Feminine Bi : e) : oF vn fs £ Ey ee inthe building i; oo § | ne | mimuch noise manoise miadequate misilent mavery silent = media

worm 2022

Figure 3: Sound perception of the respondents with and without disabilities, related to noise annoy-

ance, inside the building and in the surroundings.

Deficiency Sound No 96,6% 34% perception inthe building 356% 209% inthe building mimuch noise manoise adequate silent mavery silent 29% media

Figure 4: Sound perception of the respondents with and without a degree of health risk, related to

noise annoyance, inside the building and in the surroundings.

4.1.4 Level of education

Figure 5 shows the distribution of the perception of noise annoyance in according to the type of education of the respondents, inside and around the external environment of the building. The average responses varied between 2.9 and 3.5, indicating opinions of the perception of noise as Adequate and Quiet.

The Graduate, Complete and Incomplete High Education groups presented around 30%, for the classification Adequate and Quiet, in the building and in the surroundings. The Incomplete High School group classified the noise annoyance in the building and in the surroundings as Very Noisy and Noisy, these two perceptions together presenting 37.2% and 45.3% of the total. In addition, the

Sound Risk perception inthe building eames | a 373% 2 a fi) i i — | 4 inthe building Yes In surrounding mmuch noise munocise madequate msilent mavery silent = media

greatest noise annoyance for the Incomplete and Complete High School groups occurs in the sur- roundings of the building.

worm 2022

Figure 5: Sound perception of the respondents according to the type of education, inside the build-

ing and in the surroundings. 4. CONCLUSIONS

This study analysed 1,769 questions involving demographic data and sound perception inside and outside the building where the respondents were located. The sound perception of most of the partic- ipants, about the inhabited space, showed that the noise had decreased and that there was no change in the sound environment, as an effect of the social distancing.

From the demographic data and the sound perception of the environment, it can be established that the respondents were not annoyed by the noise inside and outside, since the opinions described these environments as Adequate and Quiet, on the rating scale from Very Noisy to Very Quiet. In this context, the participation of the young people (18 to 39 years old) concentrated most of the answers about the discomfort and reported these preferences about noise. In terms of health, it was evident that almost all the respondents did not have any physical disability. The female public (68%) who answered the questionnaire corresponded to twice the male public, so it is observed that the answers

Sound 49,0% _ in surroundin Postgraduate PEt) wi _ 295% 47.6% | 35.0% high school’ (ong complete RES an oa 5,2% inte High school’ building ‘incomplete 1,5% inthe No formal — building instruction 0,2% in surrounding oso 1) inthe A g inthe 5 336 higher mamuch noise mancise miadequate musilent mavery silent media

about the sound perception had similar averages in both genders, therefore, the gender did not impact considerably on sound perception. We also noticed that around 70% of the participants answered that they are not part of the risk group for COVID-19, this health question, with individuals in a risk group or not, also presented similar perception averages. Furthermore, the Graduate, Completed and Incom- plete High Education groups had close to 90% of the participation in the responses, in the education data the averages were kept close.

In general, it was noticed that the demographic data, in the categories of gender, age, education and health maintained close average values. In the age category, despite the proximity in the average values, it is noted that the older the age seems to be, the greater the noise tolerance, as they classify the environment as quieter.

In relation to the results of the average values, the answers about sound perception were more positive inside the building than in the surroundings. However, both answers were predominant in Adequate and Quiet. About the results of sound perception in the building being more positive than the results of the surroundings, it can be established that one of the influencing factors is the sound subjectivity, since an environment with greater noise control could offer less noise annoyance. More- over, external sources can cause more disturbance because they are noisy and difficult to control.

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was carried out with the support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Edu- cation Personnel (CAPES), Brazil. 6. REFERENCES

1. WHO. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) - Situation Report – 204. [S. l.]: 2020. 2. VIEIRA, Júlia Maggi et al. What do we know about COVID-19? A review article. REV ASSOC

MED BRAS, [S. l.] , v. 66, n. 4, p. 534–540, 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/1806- 9282.66.4.534. Accessed on: August 12, 2020. 3. OPAS/OMS. OMS declara emergência de saúde pública de importância internacional por surto

de novo coronavírus. [s. l.] , 2020. Available at: https://www.paho.org/bra/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6100:oms- declara-emergencia-de-saude-publica-de-importancia-internacional-em-relacao-a-novo- coronavirus&Itemid=812. Accessed on: September 2, 2020. 4. PROACÚSTICA. Levantamento da ProAcústica demonstra que na pandemia a poluição sonora

reduziu em SP. [s. l.] , 2020a Available at: http://www.proacustica.org.br/noticias/proacustica- releases-sobre-as-acoes-da-associacao/levantamento-da-proacustica-demonstra-que-na- pandemia-a-poluicao-sonora-reduziu-em- sp.html?searched=fique+em+casa&advsearch=oneword&highlight=ajaxSearch_highlight+aja. Acesso em: August 12, 2020. 5. ÉPOCANEGÓCIOS. Quarentena reduz ruídos urbanos em SP e muda o som da cidade. [s. l.] ,

2020. Available at: https://epocanegocios.globo.com/Brasil/noticia/2020/04/epoca-negocios- quarentena-reduz-ruidos-urbanos-em-sp-e-muda-o-som-da-cidade.html. Accessed on: August 12, 2020.

worm 2022