Real silence is becoming increasingly difficult to find near cities – but now more municipalities are pointing out silent places on their maps. The purpose is for people to get more easily accessible places and to facilitate future urban planning.
– The most common disorder that means that you can’t really relax is community noise, says Pontus Wikström, chairman of the association Quite Parks Sweden.
Just outside Luleå is Bälingeberget, one of the nine quiet areas that the municipality has selected. Here it is quick to change vehicle traffic to bird song and the wind’s whisper, something that more municipalities are trying to achieve by marking similar places in municipal maps and tourist guides.
The association Quite Parks Sweden has helped to mark silent areas in eleven municipalities in Norrbotten and Sörmland.
– We have chosen a method where we make a subjective assessment of the noise events in place. Then it may be that we are there for a couple of hours and note that we heard aircraft three times and car traffic three times. Some areas are close to the city center and are therefore more easily accessible, while others are more remote and are really silent, says Pontus Wikström.
Both public health and tourist trend
According to Wikström, the municipalities also mark the quiet areas to protect them from noise in future plans for new roads or extensions. More and more tourists are also looking for quiet nature areas, which increases the pressure on the municipalities to preserve and clearly inform about silent zones.
– If people can find these areas, where you can unwind faster, it will benefit public health as well, says Pontus Wikström.