HearHere - Participatory Noise Mapping
Context
Urban noise is a growing public health concern. Persistent environmental noise causes sleep disturbance, cardiovascular disease, impaired concentration, and emotional distress, and worldwide an estimated 466 million people live with hearing loss. In Switzerland, subjective disturbance from traffic noise at home has risen from 23% in 2011 to 35.6% in 2023, yet almost no data exists on how people experience noise in public urban spaces beyond their own home.
Current noise monitoring in Switzerland (e.g., SonBASE) relies exclusively on modeled traffic, train, and aircraft noise. These objective, decibel-based estimates ignore how noise actually feels in everyday life. This gap is especially large for people on the "hearing spectrum" (hearing loss, hearing aids, hyperacusis, misophonia, tinnitus - affecting 10–15% of adults) and the "neuro spectrum" (e.g. Autism, ADHD, Hypersensitivity), who experience decreased sound tolerance at much higher rates than the general population and are systematically excluded from conventional noise research and urban planning. HearHere addresses this gap by moving beyond decibel-based traffic models to create a participatory, multidimensional noise map that captures the lived experience of diverse populations.
About the project
HearHere investigates how diverse, sensitive, and normal populations, including people on the hearing and/or neuro spectrum, experience urban soundscapes. Using a mobile sensing app, citizens record short ambient audio snippets together with GPS coordinates and subjective ratings (loudness, annoy-ance, density stress, personal status), capturing the lived reality of urban noise and acoustics.
The project aims to create the first community-driven, multidimensional noise map of Zurich, one that identifies not only noise "hotspots" but also positive "acoustic relief zones". This helps close the gap between scientific knowledge and public awareness of inclusive urban noise. The immediate benefit for participants is a validating platform and personal insight into their own noise exposure. For society, the project translates citizen-generated data into evidence-based recommendations for more inclusive city planning, directly supporting the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment's (BAFU) National Plan of Measures to Reduce Noise Pollution.
Project phases
- Phase 1 – Proof of Concept & Co-Creation (completed, early 2026)
Initial stakeholder onboarding, development of the mobile sensing app, a pilot data collection with more than 20 participants and over 100 geospatial audio measurements across Zurich, and the first Delphi Round (April 2026). - Phase 2 – Digital Infrastructure & Broad Outreach (from late summer 2026)
Building a dedicated HearHere website hosting the interactive noise map and psychoeducational re-sources, and launching targeted social media campaigns (Instagram, LinkedIn etc.) to recruit a broader, more inclusive group of participants. - Phase 3 – Scaled Data Collection & Delphi Round II (fall 2026)
Continuous crowdsourced data collection via the app by the newly recruited public, and a second Delphi Round (planned for November 2026) focusing on advanced audio analysis, temporal fluctuations, and defining acoustic triggers such as construction noise or events. - Phase 4 – Synthesis, Policy Translation & Dissemination (spring 2027)
A third (and possibly fourth) Delphi Round evaluates and synthesizes the results. Together, the consortium co-creates actionable urban planning recommendations, publicly showcases the community-driven noise map, and prepares follow-up projects, including a planned SNSF Agora proposal.
Participate in the project
Anyone living in or visiting Zurich can take part in HearHere, regardless of their hearing profile. The project specifically welcomes people with hearing loss, hearing aids, tinnitus, hyperacusis, or neuro-diverse conditions such as ADHD, autism or hypersensitivity. No prior knowledge is required.
Citizens (currently) contribute in three ways. As data contributors, they download the mobile sensing app, record their own noise hotspots or acoustic relief zones, and add subjective ratings. As Delphi participants, they join in-person workshops alongside scientists and policymakers (e.g., from Umwelt- und Gesundheitsschutz Zürich, Pro Audito) to interpret the data and co-create urban planning recommendations. As digital contributors, they engage with the psychoeducational content on the project website and social media, leave feedback, and follow the live progression of the noise map. Co-creation shapes every dimension of the project, which is built on open-science and open-source principles throughout. We aim to give equal opportunity and traction to the needs of all stakeholders – the project remains dynamic and open to change throughout. HearHere can be understood as operating on different tiers, ranging from the health-related needs of directly affected populations to the broader acoustic-aesthetic dimensions of everyday life in Zurich.
Participants gain personal insight into their own everyday noise exposure, a rare and validating space to exchange experiences of density stress and sensory overload with peers and policymakers, and direct influence on how the results, including the interactive map, public bulletins, and policy briefs, are shaped and shared. Their contributions directly inform the first community-driven, multidimensional noise map of Zurich and feed into concrete recommendations for the city and self-help organizations, as well as setting standards for similar initiatives and policies nationally and, potentially, internationally.
