Quantification of the exposure and effects of road traffic noise in a dense Asian city: a comparison with western cities

Abstract

The proportion of the Hong Kong population exposed to high levels (>70 dB) is similar to that found in Europe. However, a much higher proportion, compared to European cities, is exposed to Lden levels of 60-64 dB, and a much lower proportion to lower levels (<55 dB). There is no evidence that the exposure-response relationships for annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance in Hong Kong are different from relationships synthesized from earlier studies - despite the western bias and temperate-climate bias in the studies available in the syntheses. This is an important finding for urban planning and traffic noise management of the growing mega-cities in the world whose built forms can be expected to reflect that of Hong Kong more than of cities in the west.