Gis-based system for acoustic mapping of urban areas: Introduction of the research project

This paper presents both a general idea and basic assumptions of a research project carried on as the common enterprise of the consortium of four R+D units and co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Informatization. The project No 6T07 2002/C. 05779 "Development of state-wide system of preparing and exploiting of numerical acoustic maps of big and medium towns for the needs of professional spatial planning and administrative staff training" was established in November 2003. According to initial assumptions, the introduced project ought to result in an efficient and effective system of acoustic mapping of urban areas. This goal should be obtained thanks to combining very advanced and highly specialized informatic technologies (acoustic modeling and simulations, GIS) with suitable measurement tools and - as a further research task - the network approach. Special attention deserves the fact that the worked out system is assumed to be an integral part of a superior system of environmental management and will be a base for decisions made by local authorities, not necessarily specialists in the acoustics domain.