Assessing accessibility to quiet and green areas at the city scale using an agent-based transport model

Standard European approaches to assessing environmental noise focus on individuals exposed to critical noise levels. However, there are complementary approaches that question the accessibility of the population to quiet areas, highlighting the restorative properties of natural and quiet spaces for human health. In this regard, from an agent-based model, this study proposes a spatio-temporal methodology to assess accessibility to quiet areas in agglomerations, integrating everyday mobility into the analysis of place effects and opportunities. The two primary objectives are to identify current quiet areas that are accessible in order to preserve them acoustically and to identify green spaces with the greatest potential for accessibility in order to improve them acoustically. Green spaces of Lyon and Villeurbanne (France) are assessed during the lunch break period using an open-source framework. The results indicate that on average about 30% of agents have access to a quiet area. Further, green spaces in courtyards represent the current quiet areas with the greatest accessibility. Concerning spaces with great potential for accessibility, linear green spaces along rivers and small squares near high-attended urban centers represent the greatest potential gain in accessibility to quiet areas. Improvements pertain to the utilization of in-situ surveys to integrate human perception and place attendance evaluations in the formulation of action plans.