Urban Echo

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Claim

Urban Echo aims to address the challenges of sound pollution within cities. Through the mediums of urban planning, architecture, and product design this project explores how we might create more livable cities for a sustainable future and to optimize the quality of life and hearing health for those living within the complex urban environments of today. Ninety percent of New Yorkers are exposed to sounds over the EPA’s safe limit of 90 decibels. This is Estimated to be around four million New Yorkers and when expanded to other major urban areas across the United States account for about 72 million people. The NYPD reports around 1 million sound complaints a year. 37% of these are residential complaints and 37% are uncategorized most likely pedestrian, construction, or traffic noise (see Figure 1). Consistent sounds over 90 decibels degrade the stereocilia (cochlear hair cells) and consistently high decibel sound also results in higher heart rate and blood pressure.