1 Soundscape approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a Limited Traffic Zone as environmental strategy Luigi Maffei 1 , Maria Di Gabriele 1 , Massimiliano Masullo 1 and Francesco Aletta 1 1 Department of Architecture and Industrial Design “Luigi Vanvitelli” - Second University of Naples Via San Lorenzo ad Septimum, 81031 Aversa, Italy ABSTRACT Limited traffic zones LTZ are strategies that municipalities adopt to improve environmental quality. In recent years a wide increase of LTZ has been registered in Europe. Although the main aim is to tackle air pollution, they impact also on noise pollution which is a big problem in many cities, despite legislation limits are imposed and/or suggested at national and international level. Recently the municipality of Naples is implementing the LTZ in different areas, within a wider program of interventions aimed at urban renewal and conservation of cultural heritage. In a study dated years ago the authors were involved in a field survey performed before and after the implementation of LTZ in Naples. The survey was based on the acquisition of environmental parameters influencing the human perception and on in situ interviews. The survey confirmed the multidimensional nature of the environmental perception according to a Soundscape approach. Despite a not really significant decrease of sound levels, the variation of the “quality of sound” after LTZ implementation was evaluated globally positive by a significant percentage of subjects. In this paper further measurements, interviews and analysis are presented in order to confirm the above tendency and/or identify possible modifications of judgements. Keywords: Urban Noise, Soundscape, Limited Traffic Zone 1. INTRODUCTION The urbanization phenomenon is spreading all over the world. As a consequence, cities may not be able to tolerate larger volumes of traffic by private and public vehicles, also causing difficulties to build new infrastructure for public transport or alternative means of transport [1]. For these reasons the urban traffic and congestion is increasing and expected to grow as a consequence of increased urbanization and greater urban sprawl. Noise from road transport affects many city dwellers and can diminish significantly their quality of life. In a recent report by the European Environment Agency [2] it is referred that in European cities with populations of more than 250.000 inhabitants, more than 62 % of the population is exposed to long-term average road traffic noise levels exceeding 55 decibels (dB) L den while at night, more than 42% of people in the same urban areas are exposed to long-term average road noise levels higher than 50 dB L night . High levels are generated by the traffic flow itself, but also by some background and boundary conditions of streets and squares. The urban sound field could be influenced by the geometry of the 1 luigi.maffei@unina2.it