Project

The positive effects of quiet facades and quiet urban areas on traffic noise annoyance and sleep disturbance

Acronym
QSIDE
Code
41G08910
Duration
01 September 2010 → 31 August 2013
Funding
European funding: various
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Systems biology
Keywords
sleep disturbance
 
Project description

The main objective of the project QSIDE is to demonstrate how European cities can effectively reduce harmful effects of traffic noise (annoyance and sleep disturbance) by offering refuges to the inhabitants: quiet facades and quiet areas. For example, a quiet façade offers the possibility to choose a bedroom on the quiet side of a house, thereby reducing the chances on sleep dusturbance by traffic noise. The refuges can be created in new urban areas, but they can also be created by modifying exisitng urban areas, for example by modifying traffic flows or by choosing specific orientations of houses with respect to roads. The benefits of quiet facades and areas will be demonstrated by performing detailed traffic noise mapping calculations for ciets, employing a new noise assessment methodology including the benefits from quiet facades and areas