Living comfort also depends on reducing noise pollution

All of this forms part of a European context in which over 20 per cent of the population (around 112 million citizens) are exposed to transport noise that is harmful to their health. This is highlighted in the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) report Environmental noise in Europe 2025: around 92 million people are exposed to levels exceeding the threshold set by European Directive on Environmental Noise of 55 dB for the day-evening-night periods; 18 million people are affected by rail noise and 2.6 million by aircraft noise.

Chronic exposure to high levels of noise contributes to an annual loss of 1.7 million DALYs (disability-adjusted life years), i.e. years of good health lost due to illness or disability. The health consequences also have a corresponding economic impact: the estimated annual loss is 104.6 billion euros, equivalent to approximately 0.61 per cent of the region’s GDP, mainly attributable to increased mortality and morbidity, which reduce quality of life, higher healthcare costs, and lower labour productivity due to absenteeism. The EEA’s estimate draws on various studies, including the “Handbook on the external costs of transport”, which estimates the financial cost of noise pollution by applying a monetary value of 70,000 euros per DALY.

According to a recent analysis carried out by Nomisma for Rockwool, “Towards ‘Green Homes’: energy efficiency and the often-overlooked issue of safety”, improving living comfort is a priority for more than six in ten homeowners. In fact, 61 per cent of those surveyed said they had carried out renovation work in the last ten years, and 70 per cent plan to do so by 2034. Improving home comfort is the main motivation (51% of those who have renovated), whilst reducing energy consumption has risen from 33 per cent to 53 per cent. Replacing doors and windows, and making aesthetic improvements, are the most common measures, and around six in ten homeowners say they pay close attention to the choice of insulation materials, both for energy efficiency and sound insulation.

One aspect that should not be underestimated is the source of the noise: as Ilaria Oberti, lecturer in Technological and Environmental Architectural Design at the Politecnico di Milano, points out, this is key to identifying the most suitable materials and how they should be combined. ‘We need to separate the issue of energy – and therefore thermal comfort – from acoustic comfort: there are materials that work well in one respect,’ explains Oberti, ‘but do not work when it comes to creating optimal acoustic conditions. Acoustic issues are addressed using materials with high mass’, i.e. materials that act as a barrier to sound waves in a mass-spring-mass configuration.

A material such as rock wool ‘acts as a thermal insulator, for example between two residential units, and in this sense is effective at providing the “spring” component of the mass-spring-mass system. However, it is not effective when we need to protect ourselves from noise coming from outside. You need to be careful about which phenomenon you are trying to mitigate: if it is sound absorption, it works; if you are looking for sound insulation, it is better not to use rock wool but other materials, such as rubber mats or cork’.

Some European cities are trying to change their approach: not just to limit noise levels, but to design the soundscape – that is, how a space sounds to those who experience it. In Berlin, for example, the soundscape approach was used as a co-design method for the regeneration of Nauener Platz, a park-like square in the Mitte district. The city then used this to update the quiet areas plan, which was incorporated into the 2019–2023 Action Plan against Noise. Another approach involves major mobility initiatives, such as the one in the Poblenou district of Barcelona. Here, a group of researchers conducted a preliminary study involving a soundwalk within a ‘superilla’ (‘super block’), an innovative urban planning model in which traffic is reduced and space is reclaimed for pedestrians.