SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AS DETERMINANTS OF NOISE ACCEPTANCE

Among the many factors that influence residents living ajacent to a major transportation facility is noise. Since the ultimate criteria of public acceptance are based on annoyance levels rather than absolute noise levels, an investigation was undertaken concerning the relationship between annoyance and socioeconomic characteristics, such as social status, length of residence, and age, in primarily single-residence neighborhoods. Criteria for selection of the study areas were variation of neighborhood age, homogeneity, property values, proximity to a noise- generating transportation system, and freedom from other major noise generators, such as airport flight patterns. Although traffic volumes ranged from 84,000 to 52,000 average daily traffic, the noise levels were fairly similar in the study areas. The current assessed value of each improved residential property abutting the highway was obtained from the property tax assessors of Jefferson and Denver counties in Colorado. A total of 110 residences were sampled from a total population of 170 to determine the quantity and characteristics of highway noise annoyance. The results of this investigation show that socioeconomic variables explain only 5.6 percent of the variance in annoyance and that further investigation is not warranted.

Media Info

  • Media Type: Print
  • Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 48-58
  • Monograph Title: Transportation Environmental Review Process
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00141276
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309024943
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Oct 26 1976 12:00AM