Road traffic noise prediction models in the metropolitan area of the Strait of Messina

The paper outlines a methodological approach for the quantitative analysis of the level of noise produced on and bytransport infrastructure in urban settings. Traffic-related noise is a source of pollution which can cause severedamage to communities in terms of health and social welfare. It is thus necessary to develop adequate and specificmathematical tools to reproduce or simulate different acoustic scenarios. An analysis is presented of the acousticdata measured in the metropolitan area of the Straits of Messina (Italy), which for its location is always subject toheavy traffic flows in transit between Sicily and the mainland (Calabria). An integrated neural-fuzzy approach toassess traffic noise, which was calibrated with the field data, is also proposed. The application of this model iscompared with the traditional regressive prediction models known in the literature and the results are presented.