Pathways to Environmental Inequality: How Urban Traffic Noise Annoyance Varies across Socioeconomic Subgroups

Environmental noise is positively associated with socioeconomically less privileged neighborhoods in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND

Environmental noise has detrimental effects on various health outcomes. Although disparities in some environmental exposures (e.g., air pollution) are well-documented, there is still a limited and uncertain understanding of the extent to which specific populations are disproportionately burdened by noise.

AIM

To assess whether environmental noise levels are associated with demographic and socioeconomic neighborhood compositions.

METHODS

We cross-sectionally examined long-term noise levels for 9,372 neighborhoods in the Netherlands. We linked these noise levels with administrative data on neighborhood characteristics for the year 2021. Linear and non-linear spatial regression models were fitted to explore the associations between noise, demographic, and socioeconomic neighborhood characteristics.

RESULTS

Our results showed that 46 % of the neighborhoods exhibited noise levels surpassing the recommended threshold of 53 dB to prevent adverse health effects. The regressions uncovered positive and partially non-linear neighborhood-level associations between noise and non-Western migrants, employment rates, low-incomers, and address density. Conversely, we found negative associations with higher-educated neighborhoods and those with a greater proportion of younger residents. Neighborhoods with older populations displayed a U-shaped association.

CONCLUSIONS

This national study showed an inequality in the noise burden, adversely affecting vulnerable, marginalized, and less privileged neighborhoods. Addressing the uneven distribution of noise and its root causes is an urgent policy imperative for sustainable Dutch cities.

Health effects of railway-induced vibration combined with railway noise - A systematic review with exposure-effect curves

BACKGROUND

The combined health impact of concurrent railway noise and railway vibration exposure is not yet well understood.

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review gives an overview of epidemiological studies on health effects from railway vibration, aiming to quantify this association with exposure-effect curves. Moreover, the combined health effects of vibration and concurrent noise were investigated.

METHODS

We converted the vibration metric to an equivalent noise level and calculated an overall noise level by energetically summing the equivalent and railway noise level. The combined health effect was determined by using published evidence-based exposure-effect formulas.

RESULTS

Studies included in this systematic review predominately investigated annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbances; no studies on manifest diseases were identified. For the combined effects of vibration and noise on "total" annoyance, the results based on the pooled analysis of CargoVibes project are recommended as conservative approach.

DISCUSSION

Converting railway vibration into equivalent noise levels in dB may offer a pragmatic approach to assess the combined health effects of railway noise and railway vibration exposure. Future studies should include cardiovascular and mental diseases in addition to vibration-induced annoyance and sleep disturbances. Furthermore, future studies should include in-depth investigations of the interaction between railway noise and railway vibration to allow for a more accurate assessment of the railway-induced burden of disease.