title: Urban road traffic noise and annoyance: the effect of a quiet façade.
abstract: Road traffic noise in urban areas is a major source of annoyance. A quiet façade has been hypothesized to beneficially affect annoyance. However, only a limited number of studies investigated this hypothesis, and further quantification is needed. This study investigates the effect of a relatively quiet façade on the annoyance response. Logistic regression was performed in a large population based study (GLOBE, N~18,000), to study the association between road traffic noise exposure at the most exposed dwelling façade (L(den)) and annoyance in: (1) The subgroup with a relatively quiet façade (large difference in road traffic noise level between most and least exposed façade (Q>10 dB); (2) the subgroup without a relatively quiet façade (Q<10 dB). Questionnaire data were linked to individual exposure assessment based on detailed spatial data (GIS) and standard modeling techniques. Annoyance was less likely (OR(Q) (>10)<OR(Q) (<10)) in the subgroup with relatively quiet façade compared to the subgroup without relatively quiet façade. The difference in response between groups seemed to increase with increasing Q and L(den). Results indicate that residents may benefit from a quiet façade to the dwelling.
authors.affiliation: TNO, Department of Urban Environment, P.O. Box 49, 2600 AA Delft, The Netherlands. yvonne.dekluizenaar@tno.nl
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: de Kluizenaar
authors.forename: Erik M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Salomons
authors.forename: Sabine A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van Lenthe
authors.forename: Henk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vos
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Henk M E
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Miedema
authors.forename: Johan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mackenbach
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D002958:City Planning; D003252:Construction Materials; D004644:Emotions; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005160:Facility Design and Construction / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009624:Noise, Transportation / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health