Noise action plans in greece, case studies of cities of rethimno, ioannin a, heraklio and municipality of psichiko

Abstract

Noise Action Plans in Greece have been in progress since 2003. The present paper concerns the cases of four cities which differ by means of land uses, population and the main sectors of each local economy. Rethimno and Heraklio are located in Crete. Rethimno is a small town, where population is doubled during summer, with an antique center, specific areas are dominated by touristic land uses, a significant student population during winter and an economy strongly related to tourism activities. Heraklion is a big town, the center of economy in Crete, with a significant number of students and tourists. One of the most important airports (flights number) and commercial harbors in Greece are located in Heraklio, while there are a lot of traffic problems in its inadequate road network. Ioannina is located in the main land of north Greece, and it is a middle sized town. A main part of Ioannina is dominated by the antique center, its road network cannot cover the traffic needs, while there is a significant population of students and tourists (not international). The economy of the town is mainly related to the civil services sector and the agricultural sector. The municipality of Psichiko is an exclusively residential area nearby the center of Athens, which affects its road traffic conditions. For the above noise action plans the existing situation has been analyzed, a proper number of 24hr and 15min measurements have been executed, noise maps have been drawn, while contacts have been made with relevant public authorities and the public and the noise pollution problems have been related to the land uses, the traffic conditions, etc. The outline of proper measures have been determined, while a number of them has been analyzed in details.