The two conventional methods are, building concrete walls to block noise and using materials for roads and railways that absorb it better. The goal was to tackle a serious yet under-appreciated environmental problem by thinking about it differently. Willems was involved in a research project to reduce irksome noise from roads and railways by using barriers that bend sound waves and direct them away from homes.
He is enthusiastic about a type of wall that he says can unite people more than divide them. That’s where Bart Willems has a role to play. While traffic can be scaled back through improved urban design, motor-powered transport will continue to emit noise and a key challenge is finding ways to limit the impact on people. And 12 000 premature deaths occur every year in the EU as a result of long-term exposure to environmental noise, of which traffic is among the main sources.īut, as with climate change, the EU fight against noise pollution involves not just mitigation but also adaptation. In the European Union, 22 million people suffer chronically high annoyance from environmental noise.
Noise is the number-two environmental source of health troubles, after air pollution, according to the United Nations World Health Organization. Efforts are under way to reduce a major source of both: traffic. In cities across the European Union, noise is a significant health hazard along with air pollution.
