Ten years of evolution of noise conflicts in Montevideo, Uruguay

Abstract

The concept of Ombudsman was originated in Sweden in 1809: a public server with a significant degree of independence, whose mandate is to monitor and control public authorities in the event of possible deviations from their duties, through action or omission. Uruguay has been significantly late in entering the ombudsman culture: the first of such institutions, the "Defensoría del Vecino" (Office of the Public Defender) in Montevideo was created in December, 2003. Thus, with limited budget and support, and many obligations, the first Ombudsman in Montevideo took up his duties in December, 2006. In compliance with the Decree which created the Office, it keeps record of all queries received in a database that classifies them according to different perspectives. The analysis of such data allows for the identification of trends and variations which take place slowly in time in the profiles of both claims and claimants. A comprehensive database analysis of cases dating from 2006 to 2016 was carried out. Some interesting interpretations could be made from this set of information about noise pollution place in the life of Montevideo citizens and about communication issues between the Ombudsman and the people.