Can road traffic noise annoyance maps describe the lack of mental well-being in an urban area?

The urban acoustic environment is often affected by road traffic noise, which has a negative impact on health and mental well-being by causing annoyance and discomfort to residents and visitors. Nevertheless, urban areas also have sounds that are pleasant to people. In this study, a mixed methodology was designed and applied in neighbourhoods in southern Chile. Urban road traffic noise and annoyance were quantified using noise maps estimated with open- source software and validated with measurements. In addition, walking interviews were conducted to assess self- reported mental well-being of residents. In parallel, the soundscape perceived by visitors was evaluated through guided soundwalks and surveys. Preliminary results suggest that in places where the population was highly annoyed, there was a lack of mental well-being. However, where the soundscape was dominated by natural sounds, mental well- being improved despite high estimated percentage of road traffic noise annoyance. Future studies aim to generalise our results and to investigate the observed positive influence of specific groups of sound sources on mental well-being in urban areas with high levels of road traffic noise.