What is the state of transport-related noise pollution in Flanders ?
In this project students walk through the entire process of an environmental impact study according the DPSIR protocol (‘driving forces’, ‘pressure’, ‘state’, ‘impact’, ‘response’). They measure noise and assess how disruptive is the noise to them personally based on a standardized noise annoyance survey, document their exposure with different techniques and compare the weaknesses and strengths of the different exposure assessment techniques. In this way they get insights in the complexity of environmental impact research.
Students complete a survey, count traffic (amount of vehicles passing by at a given location during one hour), near their homes and/or at school. Noise measurements are performed at the pupils’ dwellings. Using the traffic counts & existing sound maps, combined with the surveys the students completed, they will construct a so called ‘noise annoyance function’. They then discuss the results and debate over the potential measures that can be taken to reduce noise exposure in their daily lives.