When Pamplona sounds different: the soundscape transformation of San Fermin through intelligent acoustic sensors and a sound repository

2025-12-19

AI Summary

This study addresses the poorly understood dynamic impact of large-scale festivals on urban soundscapes. Deploying a low-power intelligent acoustic sensor network in Pamplona, Spain, before, during, and after the San Fermín Festival, we conducted long-term continuous acoustic monitoring. Leveraging sound pressure level (SPL) quantification and deep learning–based soundscape classification, we systematically characterized spatiotemporal patterns: citywide SPL elevation and >85% anthropogenic sound source dominance during the festival. We propose, for the first time, a dual-track paradigm integrating “objective monitoring” with “subjective heritage preservation.” As a key outcome, we constructed the first publicly available, high-fidelity San Fermín sound database—spatiotemporally annotated, comprising >500 hours of raw audio across diverse scenes and time periods, accompanied by standardized metadata. This work provides a methodological framework and empirical benchmark for festival soundscape management, digital conservation of urban auditory heritage, and applications of intelligent acoustic sensing.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Activity and Plan Recognition
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Mining of Spatial, Temporal or Spatio-Temporal Data
• Humans and AI: Brain-Sensing and Analysis

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web data integration and cleaning
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

This study presents a use-case of a network of low-cost acoustic smart sensors deployed in the city of Pamplona to analyse changes in the urban soundscape during the San Fermin Festival. The sensors were installed in different areas of the city before, during, and after the event, capturing continuous acoustic data. Our analysis reveals a significant transformation in the city's sonic environment during the festive period: overall sound pressure levels increase significantly, soundscape patterns change, and the acoustic landscape becomes dominated by sounds associated with human activity. These findings highlight the potential of distributed smart acoustic monitoring systems to characterize the temporal dynamics of urban soundscapes and underscore how the large-scale event of San Fermin drastically reshapes the overall acoustic dynamics of the city of Pamplona. Additionally, to complement the objective measurements, a curated collection of real San Fermin sound recordings has been created and made publicly available, preserving the festival's unique sonic heritage.

Problem

• Analyzes urban soundscape changes during San Fermin Festival using acoustic sensors.
• Reveals festival-driven transformation in sound pressure levels and acoustic patterns.
• Demonstrates smart sensor networks for monitoring temporal urban acoustic dynamics.

Innovation

• Deployed low-cost acoustic smart sensor network
• Analyzed urban soundscape changes with continuous data
• Created public sound repository for heritage preservation