Urban-Noise-Uganda-61K: Noise mapping and ambient sound recordings of the urban environment in Uganda

Urban-Noise-Uganda-61K: Noise mapping and ambient sound recordings of the urban environment in Uganda | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Urban-Noise-Uganda-61K: Noise mapping and ambient sound recordings of the urban environment in Uganda Solomon Nsumba This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6999549/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Urban noise pollution is a growing public health concern, particularly in rapidly developing cities where regulatory enforcement is limited. High noise levels have been linked to adverse health effects, including stress, sleep disturbances, and cardiovascular issues. However, data-driven noise monitoring remains scarce in many low-resource settings, limiting efforts to develop effective mitigation strategies. To address this gap, we designed and deployed a large-scale noise data collection pipeline in Kampala and Entebbe, Uganda. Our approach integrates mobile-based tools to capture short audio recordings, categorizations of the type of noise, and sound pressure levels at specific locations. Over the course of the study, we collected 61,821 such annotated noise samples across five divisions in Kampala and four wards in Entebbe. This is to our knowledge the largest existing urban sound dataset, and the first time that the acoustic landscape of a developing-world city has been characterized in such detail. It provides valuable insights into urban noise pollution, forming a foundation for future noise mapping and mitigation efforts. Environmental Engineering Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6999549","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":477813329,"identity":"4f3bc7da-0e61-4680-adc7-e3f533818cf1","order_by":0,"name":"Solomon Nsumba","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAv0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLACxgYGORB94AEpWozBWhJI0ZLYAGIQpUV+dvszqZs77NLnhx1+CLTFTk63gYAWgztnzKRzzyTnbrydZgDUkmxsdoCQFokcNuncNubcjbMTQFoOJG4jpEV+RvozoJb6dMPZ6R+I08JwIwHosLbDCfLSOUTaYnAjx9g698xxww3SOQUHEgyI8AvQYQ9v5+6olpefnb75w4cKOzmCWhDWgVUaEKscbF0DKapHwSgYBaNgRAEAx8lGRABqkJEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1264-5565","institution":"Sunbird AI","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Solomon","middleName":"","lastName":"Nsumba","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-28 19:35:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6999549/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6999549/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":85812654,"identity":"d7dfaa85-98db-41df-b3ec-6c5653b45c8b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-02 04:13:17","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":4511400,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"UrbanNoiseUganda61K.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6999549/v1_covered_fe99abc0-eeab-4087-8f5e-8d91cafb8aed.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eUrban-Noise-Uganda-61K: Noise mapping and ambient sound recordings of the urban environment in Uganda\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Sunbird AI","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6999549/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6999549/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUrban noise pollution is a growing public health concern, particularly in rapidly developing cities where regulatory enforcement is limited. 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