Inequalities in road traffic noise exposure levels in greenspaces in Greater London

Exposure to road traffic noise in residential settings has been associated with detrimental effects on health including annoyance, sleep disturbance, cardiometabolic outcomes, and mental health. Conversely, exposure to natural sounds improves cognitive performance and aids in stress recovery in humans. Environmental exposure studies have shown that the distribution of noise exposures is often not equitable across cities, but evidence related to noise in UK greenspaces remains limited. This study provides an analysis of noise variability and inequalities in noise levels for greenspaces in Greater London related to residential addresses. Noise levels from major and minor roads were modelled across 2,532 greenspaces for the daytime and evening period in accordance with the European Commission Common Framework for Noise Assessment (CNOSSOS-EU) methods from Environment Noise Directive 2002/49/EC and the inverse square law of sound attenuation. Using modelled road traffic noise estimates, we found that 28 % of greenspaces exceeded equivalent World Health Organization noise guideline levels during daytime and evening periods. Greenspaces in Central London were more likely to have noise levels that exceeded the WHO noise guidelines. Distance-based proximity analyses showed that for populations in Central London, greenspace areas nearest to residential addresses were more likely to feature high noise levels. As distance travelled from residential locations increased, the distribution of high greenspace noise levels became more dispersed. However, no inequality gradient was observed between different deprivation groups, except for the least deprived communities’, who experienced noise levels that were 2 dB lower within greenspace areas within a 5 km radius.