Civil Engineering and Architecture Vol. 6(2), pp. 71 - 77
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2018.060204
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A Modern Standardized Method for Predicting Community Response to Aircraft Noise

Sanford Fidell ^*
Fidell Associates, Inc., 23139 Erwin Street, Woodland Hills, United States

ABSTRACT

National (and in some cases, state) legislation in the United States requires prediction of community response to aircraft noise exposure as part of the disclosure of environmental effects of proposed construction of airport infrastructure. Formulation of transportation noise policy and systematic regulation of transportation noise require similar predictions. Historically, such predictions have been based on dosage-response functions derived from univariate correlational analyses in which cumulative noise exposure serves as the sole predictor of annoyance. Such functions typically ignore major differences in annoyance prevalence rates in communities with similar levels of noise exposure, and leave much of the variance in the relationship between exposure and community response unaccounted for. More complex regression models with additional predictor variables can account for more variance, but are ill-suited for regulatory purposes. A recently revised international standard, ISO 1996-1:2016, describes a causal (rather than correlational) prediction method known as Community Tolerance Level ("CTL") that addresses the limitations of dosage-response functions derived by univariate regression modeling. CTL-based predictions of the prevalence of a consequential degree of aircraft noise-induced annoyance can account for notably more variance in the relationship between noise exposure and annoyance than univariate regression predictions. The CTL approach also provides a consistent rationale for defining the significance of noise exposure, and a systematic approach to regulation of transportation noise.

KEYWORDS
Transportation Noise, Community Response to Noise, Noise-induced Annoyance, Noise Regulation, CTL

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Sanford Fidell , "A Modern Standardized Method for Predicting Community Response to Aircraft Noise," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 71 - 77, 2018. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2018.060204.

(b). APA Format:
Sanford Fidell (2018). A Modern Standardized Method for Predicting Community Response to Aircraft Noise. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 6(2), 71 - 77. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2018.060204.