Urban traffic noise and annoyance: The influence of quiet facades

Annoyance is usually predicted from the noise levels at the most exposed façade of the dwelling. This relationship may be refined by also taking into account the noise level at the least exposed façade, assuming that a quiet façade may have benefits. Questionnaire data from a large population based cohort study (GLOBE) in the Netherlands were linked to individual exposure assessment, for which detailed spatial data were used together with geographical information systems (GIS) and state of the art modeling techniques. Logistic regression was used to study the association between exposure at the most exposed façade of the dwelling (L den) and annoyance, taking into account the exposure at the least exposed façade. Annoyance was measured by asking if subjects were disturbed by environmental noise. The results suggest that residents may benefit from having a quiet façade.