Something I love about Oslo: This city is incredibly quiet.
Lots of people are walking/biking/scooting. And most vehicles are electric, while speed limits are typically 30 km/hr (19 mph), so engine/tire noise is negligible.
A reminder that cities aren't loud; cars are loud.
@davidzipper@notjustbikes Climbing the stairs to the belvedere on top of Mont Royals in Montréeal Canada gives a great exposé on car noise. You are in a quiet forest with no cars. Yet, you distinctly hear the "city noise" from all the cars downtown. It is a powefull white noise. When downtown, you don,t notice it due to all the nearby noises of vehicles, but at a distance, the rumble of that white noise is very loud.
@jfmezei@davidzipper@notjustbikes also right on this picture you have a huge parking lot that's barely used and could have been more trees... (right side)
@vincentbiret@jfmezei@davidzipper@notjustbikes it used to be for a hospital (Royal Vic) so it was somewhat arguably necessary. The good news is that they’re planning to remove most if not all of it with the ongoing renovations as part of it (building + parking lot) being given to McGill University!
@antwan@jfmezei@davidzipper@notjustbikes yeah I saw that in the news a while ago and couldn't find a reference to it. As far as I remember they are giving the buildings away and the parking lot might either be rewilded or become housing.
(But there are problems because there may be graves of indiginenous eople as well as those who perished during CIA experiments at Allan Memorial) so city recommends first doing aecheological search.
@jfmezei@davidzipper@notjustbikes I'm currently house sitting in a suburb in Melbourne and the house is on a (smallish) hill and the motorway is less than a kilometre away. I remember in the first 24 hours hearing a background noise which was more noticeable in the morning, and realised it was the motorway. It's a dull roar that I have become used to, but look forward to not having when I go back to my house.
@davidzipper Noise pollution is off the chart here in S. Calif. cities. Cars, busses, aircraft, etc… and more are all contributors. Air pollution has to come down immediately.
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