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The present study aims to compute the temporal and spatial distribution of road traffic induced noise pollution in an urban environment by monitoring and mapping. The study area was the entire Asansol city of West Bengal, India. A total of 35 locations were selected for collection of data, classified as industrial, commercial, residential, sensitive and mixed areas according to the national regulatory standards. Noise recordings were conducted during morning and night hours. Day time Leq level ranged between 51.2 and 89.0 dB(A), whereas it ranged between 43.5 and 81.9 dB(A) during night. The average Ldn value was 73.28 ± 8.51 dB(A) (Range: 55.1-87.3); The traffic noise index was 80.62 ± 15.88 dB(A) (Range: 49.4-115.8). The computed data were mapped by utilization of Geographic information system methodology that allowed the visualization and identification of the extent and distribution of sound pollution across the study area. This proves to be an ideal tool for carrying out noise impact assessments in urban settings. The study reveals that present noise level in all the locations exceeds the prescribed limit. Based on the finding, it can be mentioned that the population in this industrial town are exposed to significantly high noise level, which is caused mostly due to road traffic. The study reveals that vulnerable establishments like schools and hospitals are subjected to significantly high noise level throughout the day and immediate mitigatory measures are required to alleviate the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of GIS-T is characterized in three stages: the map view, the navigational view, and the behavioral view. The static nature of the map view favors applications related to inventory and description, and raises difficult questions of accuracy and interoperability. The navigational view adds concerns for connectivity and planarity, and the storage of time-dependent attributes. Navigation also raises issues of representation related to scale, including the need for lane-level connectivity. The behavioral view stems from the work of Hägerstrand, treating transportation events as dynamic and occurring within the largely static transportation space. Appropriate representations for the behavioral view have still to be worked out. In all three cases the legacies of prior technologies and perspectives are still evident. The paper presents a series of research challenges, dealing with standards, representation, unambiguous communication, economic models, response to new technologies, and application of knowledge gained from GIS-T and ITS research to other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]