More than 110 million people across Europe suffer high levels of health-damaging noise pollution, according to a report. The resulting physiological stress and sleep disturbance leads to 66,000 early deaths a year and many cases of heart disease, diabetes and depression.
The report is based on data reported by EEA countries on transport noise, which is the most widespread and significant type of noise pollution.
This is a big reason why I decided I couldn’t live in cities anymore. For someone who grew up in a village where it was quiet almost the entire time I feel it’s especially a lot. Never mind the neurodivergence not enjoying it.
Cities aren’t loud, cars are loud. Advocate to get cars banned from cities!
Even without cars, for someone like myself they are still loud. It’s a subjective thing. There could be no cars used around my home at all but there could still be a family with loud kids, or someone who regularly blasts music or people using power tools often and so on. That isn’t to say these things are inherently bad or anything, just that for me I’ve dealt with too much aggravating noise in various places. Now I live in a van and just come into cities when I please.
I completely get you, and I’ll retort by saying that this time, it’s a noise insulation issue! I’ve visited several friends in newer appartements in Europe and those tend to have really good noise insulation, and I’m talking can’t-hear-the-neighbor’s-party good. Surely there are exceptions but this can be engineered around.
Ah yeah I’m very with you on that, I’m aware these exist and I’m a massive advocate. One of the things we should be doing to counter the climate crisis housing-wise is us living in high density ways. To make that much less of a hell for people with sensory issues then these proper noise insulated places are a must.
Edit: It’s also important on a disability rights level. For instance people with severe MCAS (an actually very common but very underdiagnosed condition) can have essentially an allergy to vibrations. So things like power tools being used just in the area around them can literally give them reactions like seizures
All the more reason to ban cars from cities. It shouldn’t be painful to live in the city and we shouldn’t be forcing people out of it, which in turn causes rural areas to become populated and noisy.
It’s what I miss most about growing up rural. The quiet and the peace, but even the population near my old family home has exploded. Can’t even see the stars anymore
Apart from cars which are the number 1 culprit.
God fucking damn it ban gas leafblowers. If you wanna blow leaves get a quieter electric one. (But also remember that leaves are very important for ecosystems so don’t blow leaves just for the sake of blowing them).
