A percepção do ruído urbano e seus efeitos sobre a qualidade de vida de moradores dos setores especiais estruturais de Curitiba

Abstract

The theme of this article is the urban noise, considered nowadays the third cause of pollution of the planet. In Brazil, although specific laws exist, which determine the thresholds for noise emissions and establishes protective measures to the population, one realizes that the noise levels of the different daily life activities are above the recommended ones. Noise exposure may lead to several disorders in human beings and consequently, result in decreasing quality of life. Our aim was, therefore, to study and understand how is noise pollution perceived by the Structural Special Sectors of Curitiba’s population and the relationship between sound (noise), health (auditory) and the environment (urban). Sound level measurements were performed in 100 arbitrarily chosen spots in the place of the investigation and 100 residents were interviewed in the same places. With the measurements, we found the noise levels inside the residences of these Sectors to be above the legally recommended, being thus a risk factor to the exposed population. The results of the interviews have shown that people realize the presence of noise inside their homes and are able to identify the causes (mostly vehicles traffic) and effects (auditory and non-auditory), but this perception is not evident.