Urban road traffic noise and annoyance: the effect of a quiet façade.

Road traffic noise in urban areas is a major source of annoyance. A quiet facade 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 facade on the annoyance response. Logistic regression was performed in a large population based study (GLOBE, N similar to 18 000), to study the association between road traffic noise exposure at the most exposed dwelling facade (L-den) and annoyance in: (1) The subgroup with a relatively quiet facade (large difference in road traffic noise level between most and least exposed fac, ade (Q > 10 dB); (2) the subgroup without a relatively quiet facade (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 (ORQ>10 < ORQ<10) in the subgroup with relatively quiet fac, ade compared to the subgroup without relatively quiet facade. The difference in response between groups seemed to increase with increasing Q and L-den. Results indicate that residents may benefit from a quiet fac, ade to the dwelling. (C) 2011 Acoustical Society of America. [DOI: 10.1121/1.3621180]