ABSTRACT
Noise has invariably accompanied people throughout the ages, but its types and the human perception of it have changed over time. Noise in large urban agglomerations is nowadays seen as a factor that greatly impairs quality of life, similarly to air or water pollution. In a recent survey involving 75 European cities,1 for instance, more than half of respondents agreed that noise was a major problem in their city, with a proportion ranging from 51% in Rotterdam and Strasbourg to 95% in Athens. The same study showed a strong positive correlation between the opinion on air and noise pollution and the perception of a city as a “clean” place, where it would be possible “feeling safe.” With the latter being two key indicators of the wellbeing in a modern city, the perceived impact of noise on the environment where we dwell everyday seems to have a great impact on the quality of life in our cities. In addition to this, unwanted effects like sleep disturbance, loss of concentration and learning difculties, increased blood pressure and stroke occurrence, annoyance and higher stress have been correlated with high levels of prolonged exposure to noise.2
