The "Quiet house – advice on reducing road noise in social housing" campaign focuses on the effects on health from traffic noise and advises housing organisations on noise mitigation. The campaign is backed by the Ministry of the Environment, the National Housing Fund (Landsbyggefonden) and the Ministry of Social Affairs.
The aim of the campaign is to inform the general public and managers in social housing departments on the subject of road noise impacts on health and quality of life and to advice on the various effective methods of noise mitigation.
When renovations are planned closed to busy roads it is a good idea to include noise mitigation in the project. Thus, decrease the impact on the overall renovation costs. In addition to improvement of the acoustic conditions, noise mitigation measures can also result in energy savings and make housing and outdoor areas more attractive.
More than one in four Danish homes are situated in areas heavily affected by road noise – and many of these are social housing. Road noise lowers the residents' daily quality of life and makes social housing less attractive. Continued exposure to road noise can lead to sleep problems, high blood pressure and, in the worst cases, heart diseases and strokes.
Read the press release on the campaign from Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Social Affairs (in Danish)
Read more about the "Quiet house – advice on reducing noise in social housing" campaign (in Danish)
Contact persons Brian Kristensen, Campaign Project Manager, the Environmental Protection Agency, tel.: +45 7254 4213
The European Environment Agency is teaming up with the Noise Abatement Society to raise awareness about the health impacts of noise and to reward European initiatives that can help reduce excessive noise.
The Quiet house campaign has been nominated for the European Soundscape Award (PDF, 972KB)