Building and environmental acoustics in obsolete residential neighbourhoods: The case of San Pablo, Spain

In order to establish an agreement between the objectives of acoustic quality in the outdoor environment and the acoustic insulation in a building as required in the current legislation in Spain, the acoustic insulation of typical social housing has been studied in the residential neighbourhood of San Pablo in Seville. Field measurements based on acoustic sonometry have been performed in its public areas, together with the consultations to the strategic noise maps prepared by the administration of the city and with data from a questionnaire answered by neighbours on the perception of environmental and domestic noise. These inputs have enabled calculations of airborne and impact noise insulation in a typical dwelling of the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood presents various kinds of obsolescence, as do many residential estates built in Europe in the same period, mainly in terms of its low quality of construction and structural solutions, its energy poverty, and its typology. Results on acoustic insulation indicate that the requirements of current Spanish legislation have not been met, D(nt,A) = 49 dBA, L'(nT,w) = 80 dB. However, thanks not only to the urban layout of the various types of housing blocks in the neighbourhood, but also to the breadth and abundance of green and common areas and to their roads, the existing environmental sound levels remain below the established limit: L(d) < 60 dBA. Hence, the calculation for the external noise insulation in façades indicates that the requirements are met, D(2m,nT,Atr) = 33 dBA. In the acoustic survey, most people consider the environmental acoustic conditions of the neighbourhood to be acceptable or good and believe that they are barely affected by the domestic noise of next-door neighbours. The research found that social heritage neighbourhoods of the 1960s and 1970s, laid out with cul-de-sacs, curved layouts, and small pockets of parking, significantly improve their urban acoustic performance.