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近隣騒音

Neighborhood Noise


Ken: Recently, there have been complaints from the neighbors regarding the school's track field speakers.

Dad: The sound of the speakers also got my attention from the last sport day event. Especially the music was not played at an appropriate volume, which I thought would annoy the neighbors.

Ken: But it's not like we always have a sports day event, and elementary and middle school events are the community event ...

Dad: This kind of noise-related problem usually doesn't have a solution that is acceptable by both parties.

Ken: Then how can we resolve the problem?

Dad: First, if the party making the noise can resolve it technically, it would be the best. In this case, decide on a sound volume and make it so it doesn't get any louder than that. And, this should be considered when a school is built or a sound system is renewed, the position and direction of the speakers should be studied precisely. In addition, these equipments should be maintained securely. Also, check if the sound is distorted due to deterioration, or check if the directions of the speakers have not shifted.

Ken: I remembered that some cracking noises were in the music when we were stretching during that sport day.

Dad: It could be a failure of the equipment, but the quality of the sound source may be bad as well. If the sound levels of the sound sources are not the same, it is difficult to adjust them to the same volume output. So it is necessary to check the volumes beforehand.

Ken: What shall we do if the complaints don't stop even if we technically fix everything?

 Dad: This is where it gets difficult. First, tell the neighbors that we have dealt with the technical issues and some improvements were made. The fact that we took measures to address the complaints usually eases the complainer's mind. If we try to coax them by saying "it is a community event" when they complain, the problem would become more complicated. It is important for the party that is making the noise to understand the situation and do whatever they can first.

Ken: I see. It is important for the party that is making the noise to act first and take prompt measures.

Dad: If the complaint still doesn't stop, a compromise has to be looked for. Both parties have to work toward the compromise. Lower the speaker volume to the lowest possible to perform its function, and have the neighbors understand that fact. It is different from school noise, but about 3 years ago, there was a case that a neighborhood filed a suit against the children's voice playing around a fountain, and the court judged that the children's voice exceeds the environmental standard and injuncted the use of the fountain.

Ken: Something like that really happened?

Dad: The main topic of the court was whether "the children's voice while playing is an undesired noise". It is obvious, as a characteristic of sounds, once a sound occurs, it is transferred to a certain space area. If many people live within the area, as every people have different sense levels, some people might be sensitive about the sound whether others might not care. Not just the sound volume but the chronic characteristic of sound, sudden or gradual change, can change the feel of the listeners. Prior to the physical numbers, the biggest problem is the mental effect. The characteristics of the sound source (children's voice, instrument practicing sound, plane sound...) affect the mental state, experience and sense of values of the listeners and these cannot be measured by number, so it is difficult.

Ken: In that court, were mental aspects considered other than numbers?

Dad: In case of noise, it's hard to replicate and correctly measure the problematic sound, and the problem can't be solved with only data. It is decided if the sound is within the "maximum permissible limit', the acceptable limit in light of common sense. In this case, it was probably determined that it exceeded the acceptable limit.

Ken: But children often play aloud at the park.

Dad: Yes. I don't know the detailed process of the ruling of the court, but after this, the problem became about the park design.

Ken: Did the park design contain a possibility of noises?

Dad: Like I said earlier, sound transfers to the surrounding. So when a new facility or building is going to be built, they anticipate the sound level of a noise that could be produced by the facility; if there is a living environment nearby, they need to design the facility so that the effect of the noise it may apply on that place will not exceed the environmental standard and other noise-related regulations. I don't know about this park, but the operator of the facility or building have to clearly explain to the neighborhood not only the sound environment plan's point of view, but also the design plan and intention of the facility and building. I believe we are missing the perspective of the meaning of the sound source and the effect on the mental aspects of the listeners, along with the level of the sound. It is difficult to reflect in the design since it can't be expressed in numbers, but it is a field that requires improvement.

Ken: When building a new facility, constructors are careful about the noises from the construction machineries or others, but who cares about what is going on when that facility starts to be used?

Dad: That is right. You can't describe it on a drawing. Now that people's conscious toward noise is higher, and the Environmental Impact Assessment Law conducted in 1999 (in Japan) requires an assessment on a certain level of public work, there are less of these problems.

Ken: There should be more experience for sound consciousness from a young age, like Ear Cleaning which I did in school, and what you taught me, Sound Walk.

Dad: Yes. Recently, a field so called "sound education", lead by college professors who study sounds, is thriving. It may be difficult at first, but it would be great if people develop knowledge and experience with continuous efforts.




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