Demographic and attitudinal factors that modify annoyance from transportation noise

Abstract

The effect of demographic variables ͑sex, age, education level, occupational status, size of household, homeownership, dependency on the noise source, and use of the noise source͒ and two attitudinal variables ͑noise sensitivity and fear of the noise source͒ on noise annoyance is investigated. It is found that fear and noise sensitivity have a large impact on annoyance ͑DNL equivalent equal to ͓at most͔ 19 and 11 dB, respectively͒. Demographic factors are much less important. Noise annoyance is not related to gender, but age has an effect ͑DNL equivalent equal to 5 dB͒. The effects of the other demographic factors on noise annoyance are ͑very͒ small, i.e., the equivalent DNL difference is equal to 1-2 dB, and, in the case of dependency, 3 dB. The results are based on analyses of the original data from various previous field surveys of response to noise from transportation sources ͑number of cases depending on the variable between 15 000 and 42 000͒.

Residential satisfaction close to highways: The impact of accessibility, nuisances and highway adjustment projects

“…Geurs and Van Wee, 2004). Moreover they differ in the way they perceive nuisance; studies looking into the relation between noise exposure and noise annoyance often fail to find a one-toone relationship (Job, 1988;Schreckenberg et al, 2010;Zimmer and Ellermeier, 1999;Miedema and Vos, 1999). Because of this notion, studies often conclude that subjective evaluations have more explanatory power (e.g.…”

The development of highway nuisance perception

“…In general, studies seem to argue that traffic nuisance perception has much more to do with attitude than with socio-demographic factors (e.g. Fields, 1993;Miedema and Vos, 1999). For example, Fields (1993) concluded that noise perception was related to attitudinal factors such as fear of danger, noise sensitivity and noise prevention beliefs, whereas it was much less related to aspects such as income, age, home ownership and education.…”

“…Several studies have found a relationship between the perception of noise and air pollution nuisance and people's actual proximity to the pollution source, often measured by calculated exposure, but with variation in the strength of this effect (e.g. Hamersma et al, 2015;Miedema and Vos, 1999;Schreckenberg, 2010). Along the same lines, studies found that noise nuisance perception is lower for residents living in insulated residences, as they are better protected against high exposure (e.g.…”

“…Guski, 1999;Fields, 1993;Hamersma et al, 2015;Miedema and Vos, 1999). Nevertheless, to date, most of these studies have focused on other infrastructural contexts, on explaining one type of nuisance, or on quantifying relationships with residential satisfaction , often at a single moment in time.…”

“…Weber, 2013), partly because of differences in how the exposed negative effects of infrastructure are actually perceived by people (e.g. Fields, 1993;Hamersma et al, 2015;Miedema and Vos, 1999;Tudor et al, 2015). In other words, whereas some people perceive nuisance from highways, others do not.…”