Response to change in noise exposure: an update

Abstract

Environmental appraisals of transport infrastructure plans are generally conducted in situations where there will be an abrupt change in noise exposure. In 2009 we reviewed the literature on response to step changes in exposure. Theweight of evidence was that for road traffic studies with changes in exposure, there is a change effect in addition ton exposure effect. In a subsequent paper we cataloged and reviewed the different explanations for this excess reaction to change. This paper provides a partial update of the two reviews by considering more recent change studies. The focus is on further evidence for the existence of the change effect and its explanations. Also, while the focus of our earlier reviews was on adverse effects of the acoustic environment, here we extend the concepts to include community response to changes in the acoustic environment resulting from measures designed to enhance positive experiences e.g. soundscaping projects).