Living with high noise levels, is it sustainable?

Abstract

This paper presents some final results of the economical evaluation of road traffic noise in Portuguese cities regarding, in particular, the costs and benefits of introducing noise mitigation measures for people living in urban areas. Considering the initial externalities in two municipalities and the mitigation measures introduced were computed the final externalities. The difference between these two situations (before and after mitigation measures) allowed the estimate of the benefits derived from the noise reduction. The comparison between the cost and the benefit of those actions characterized the advantage/disadvantage of the investment. The prospective analysis of noise externalities for Portugal and the referring economical value according to the three estimates of project HEATCO will allow commenting on the sustainability of these excessive noise levels.