This study began as part of an Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) community service project. As a result, the measurement period corresponds to part of the academic cycles, from June to August, in the years 2020 and 2021. A total of 95 students contributed actively to the data collection, supervised by 12 volunteer teachers from ESPOL. Both groups resided in the city of Guayaquil during the development of the project.
In 2020, 70 students participated, while in 2021, only 25 students did. The difference in the number of participants is due to the restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. These restrictions resulted in students having fewer places to choose from when participating in internships. As a result, a greater number of students joined in 2020.
The project implemented a crowdsourcing methodology, carrying out measurements collaboratively to study noise levels in the city. The sound pressure was recorded using the Sound Meter (Smart Tools Co., 2020 ) and Decibel X: dB Sound Level Meter applications (SkyPaw, 2019 ), for smartphones with Android and iOS operating systems, respectively. For an adequate noise characterization, measurements were made daily in 4 different time frames: 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m.
Prior to measuring the sound pressure waves, the students needed to stabilize the noise measurement application. To achieve this, the App had to be left operating for approximately 5 min without registering the measurement (OSHA, 2015 ). Once the stabilization was achieved, the participants completed the measurements in 2 min from their respective homes, ensuring that the noise came from sources outside the home. In addition, mobile applications made it possible to record the maximum, minimum and average levels through the sound pressure measurement period.
Subsequently, the ArcGIS Survey123 application (Esri, 2022 ) was used to record the noise data and automatically obtain the geolocation of measurements. Additionally, the participants specified the date and time of each measurement, the noise levels, the predominant emitting source, and any important observations during the measurement.
In 2020, 70 students participated, while in 2021, only 25 students did. The difference in the number of participants is due to the restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. These restrictions resulted in students having fewer places to choose from when participating in internships. As a result, a greater number of students joined in 2020.
The project implemented a crowdsourcing methodology, carrying out measurements collaboratively to study noise levels in the city. The sound pressure was recorded using the Sound Meter (Smart Tools Co., 2020 ) and Decibel X: dB Sound Level Meter applications (SkyPaw, 2019 ), for smartphones with Android and iOS operating systems, respectively. For an adequate noise characterization, measurements were made daily in 4 different time frames: 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m.
Prior to measuring the sound pressure waves, the students needed to stabilize the noise measurement application. To achieve this, the App had to be left operating for approximately 5 min without registering the measurement (OSHA, 2015 ). Once the stabilization was achieved, the participants completed the measurements in 2 min from their respective homes, ensuring that the noise came from sources outside the home. In addition, mobile applications made it possible to record the maximum, minimum and average levels through the sound pressure measurement period.
Subsequently, the ArcGIS Survey123 application (Esri, 2022 ) was used to record the noise data and automatically obtain the geolocation of measurements. Additionally, the participants specified the date and time of each measurement, the noise levels, the predominant emitting source, and any important observations during the measurement.
