More than a third of Flemish people suffer from noise pollution and say noise is the most disturbing factor about where they live, a new survey has revealed.
Road traffic is a worse offender than airport noise
The Flemish Department of the Environment conducted a Citizens’ Survey on the Quality of the Environment in Flanders in autumn 2023. The survey involved 7,500 respondents aged between 17 and 85, who were asked about things that trouble or annoy them in their living environment.
The findings show that 36% of the survey’s participants identified noise pollution as the factor that bothers them the most. Drilling into the detail, road traffic was named by 30% of people as the most disturbing source of noise, with around 25% specifying cars, lorries and motorbikes as the culprits, while over 10% said emergency sirens and tractors get on their nerves the most.
Noise pollution has been shown by researchers to be associated with poor health, night-time noise, and disturbed sleep, which is especially problematic for cardiovascular health in older men. However, the Flemish survey’s findings about road noise may surprise those who have been following news and have ongoing complaints about noise pollution at Brussels Airport. The hub has been at the centre of a years-long controversy about night flights, noise and quality of life, particularly in Flemish communities around the Belgian capital, who have claimed they are disproportionately affected by flight paths.
Other irritations in Flemish neighbourhoods
After noise, odour was the second most irritating intrusion into Flemish neighbourhoods, named by 12.7% of people as something they find difficult to live with. Chimney smoke is the worst offender when it comes to smells people dislike or are disturbed by.
Third on the list of grievances is light pollution, bothering 6.5% of respondents, with a third of them (2.1%) sayinglighting in neighbours’ gardens and driveways is a source of discomfort or annoyance. Slightly fewer people (1.9%) said public street lighting bothers them.
Overall satisfaction
Notwithstanding the problems named above, the vast majority of Flanders inhabitants, reflected by almost 74% of respondents, expressed overall satisfaction with where they live. Factors that influence how pleased people are by their surroundings include sufficient provision of places to relax, enough commerce to allow daily shopping and green spaces. Indeed green spaces, as well as water features, or a garden, proved to be popular, with respondents likely to be more satisfied if they had a view of at least one of those amenities from home.
