Assessing the relationship between objective and subjective indicators of residential exposure to road traffic noise in the context of environmental justice

Abstract

Noise action planning according to the EU Environmental Noise Directive aims to improve people's health. Although health inequalities exist, the Directive does not address social inequalities in residential exposure to road traffic noise. In multivariate regression analyses based on two urban study populations, we assess the relationship between objective and subjective indicators of residential exposure to road traffic noise as an issue of environmental justice. Residential neighbourhood satisfaction, socio-demographic and -economic, health-related and noise-related attitudinal factors were included as covariates additionally explaining the subjective response to road traffic noise (noise annoyance). Our results underline the need to select, operationalise and examine noise-related indicators very carefully, as objective noise exposure predicts noise annoyance insufficiently. Otherwise, urban environmental planning might miss environmentally unjust situations and fail to initiate distributive and procedural environmental justice.