ABSTRACT
Environmental noise is unwanted or harmful sound, usually generated by human activities including road traffic, railways, air transport, industry, recreation and construction, and is perceived in the domestic environment such as in and near the home, in public parks and schools. This chapter starts with an overview of the subjective evaluation of urban noise in terms of acoustic/physical factors and social/psychological/economic factors, and commonly used evaluation methods (Section 2.1), followed by a series of objective descriptors relating to urban sounds (Section 2.2). It then summarises key/typical noise standards/regulations and their principles (Section 2.3), and the current situation of urban noise climate in some countries (Section 2.4).
