Acoustic evaluation of modular greenery noise barriers

•Use of greenery noise barriers in urban planning improves aesthetic and perception aspects.•A new modular-based greenery wall has been acoustically characterized.•Vertical greenery systems show a significant noise attenuation on the urban road.•Barrier with vertical greenery is better than traditional reflecting barriers.•The proposed greenery system shows an improvement with a pair of parallel barriers. Green noise barriers have become an alternative means of reducing urban traffic noise. In this paper, the acoustic performance of a modular greenery noise barrier is evaluated. In situ measurements of noise reflection were performed using an experimental prototype to estimate the sound absorption coefficients. These coefficients were found to have values of approximately 0.7, higher than those previously found in laboratory measurements for a similar system with a lower vegetation density. The obtained values were input into software for predicting environmental noise to analyse the expected performance of such barriers, particularly in the case of a pair of parallel barriers. A comparison with the results for reflective barriers indicates a significant improvement in sound attenuation of up to 4dBA. The values are similar and even superior to results reported by other authors regarding the effectiveness of absorptive treatments applied to parallel barriers, and furthermore, the proposed barriers offer an aesthetic element for environmental integration.