Urban Noise Reduction

Challenge

This use case was implemented in the Ruzafa neighborhood of Valencia, Spain, through a pilot project called "Ecoterrazas Sostenibles" (Sustainable EcoTerraces). The area was experiencing ongoing conflicts due to noise levels consistently exceeding established limits.

The core challenge was finding a balanced approach to managing noise pollution that satisfies multiple, often conflicting, stakeholder groups within the urban community:

• Residents seek peace and quiet in their homes. Excessive noise disrupts their quality of life and well-being.
• Customers want to enjoy their social time in outdoor bars and restaurants without restrictions.
• Businesses depend on extended operating hours for economic sustainability. In acoustically saturated areas they face the risk of reduced operating hours if noise levels consistently exceed regulatory limits.

These competing interests create a complex urban dilemma. When authorities attempt to address noise complaints through traditional approaches, such as imposing rigid restrictions on outdoor activities, they often generate new conflicts rather than solving the original problem. Residents may get temporary relief, but businesses suffer economically and patrons feel their social freedoms are being restricted.

This presented an opportunity to leverage IoT technology in a way that empowers communities rather than restricts them. LORIOT Verso, together with the Valencia City Council, Valencia Innovation Capital, Las Naves, PLENOM, and Damal Redes, developed a solution that transforms conflict into collaboration through real-time visual feedback, enabling all stakeholders to work together in maintaining urban harmony.

The pilot's objectives are multifaceted: reducing noise levels generated by leisure activities in the area while incorporating sustainability criteria into urban nightlife management.

Solution

The result of this collaborative effort is a real-time visual noise alert system featuring wireless, battery-powered lamps that serve dual purposes as ambient lighting and noise alert indicators.

A custom version ofwireless LoRaWAN® LED lamps, integrated with strategically placed sensors, illuminate to provide immediate visual feedback when pre-defined noise levels are exceeded. This system instantly alerts restaurant staff and customers, empowering them to take real-time action and fostering a self-regulating community response.

The technical foundation of this community-centered IoT solution consists of four integrated elements:

• Sonometer sensors: Attached to building facades to monitor real-time noise levels throughout the street.
• Battery-powered LED lamps: Wirelessly controlled lamps placed freely on terraces. When nearby sonometers detect noise above predetermined thresholds, lamps automatically switch to red, alerting patrons to moderate their voices.
• Gateway and LoRaWAN® technology: Lamps are controlled wirelessly using gateway infrastructure and LoRaWAN® multicast protocol for reliable, long-range communication.
• Control algorithms: System algorithms respond to real-time noise data from sonometers. Lamp behavior and alert parameters can be remotely adjusted, giving municipalities complete control over the solution.

The best characteristic of this system lies in its simplicity and non-intrusive integration.

The technology seamlessly blends into the urban environment without disruption, while being designed for scalable city-wide implementation when communities are ready to expand the approach.

"The success of the Ruzafa Noise Project is a testament to the power of multi-stakeholder collaboration. Our deep partnership with the València City Council, València Innovation Capital, and our technology partners Plenom and Damal Redes, was crucial and very fruitful in developing a solution that is both technologically advanced and socially inclusive."
Robin Wulfes - LORIOT Verso IoT Solutions Lead

The Return

The implementation phase of this noise monitoring project has already revealed the transformative potential of its collaborative approach. The community response has been remarkable; when the smart lamps mark red, there is a visible moment the customers pause and adjust, demonstrating the impact of the solution in the collective awareness of urban environments.

While comprehensive quantitative data will be available by the end of the year, the project has demonstrated significant qualitative achievements:

• Multi-Stakeholder Integration: Successfully bringing together residents, businesses, local government, and technology partners in a unified solution.
• Innovative Conflict Resolution: Transforming a traditional enforcement problem into a community-driven awareness initiative that promotes self-regulation and mutual respect.
• Scalable Urban Innovation: Establishing a replicable model for noise management that can be adapted and implemented across different urban contexts and neighborhoods.

"This pilot is pioneering. The Ruzafa neighborhood is a perfect laboratory for testing this initiative that seeks a new model for urban terraces—more sustainable and friendly—that can also be extrapolated to other parts of the city, or even serve as a model for other urban areas. This pilot also brings us closer to other examples we see in other European cities."
Paula Llobet - , Councilor for Innovation and Tourism, City of Valencia

This solution contributes to achieving three of the United Nations' seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).