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When environmental indicators are not neutral: Assessing aircraft noise assessment in Europe

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  • Dobruszkes, Frédéric
  • Efthymiou, Marina

Abstract

This paper brings the lessons of critical thinking of environmental indicators to transport studies. To demonstrate the extent to which these indicators are not neutral, the case study focuses on airport noise indicators imposed by both the European Union and Flanders, Belgium, as they are applied to Brussels Airport's operations. Three directions have been considered. First, we unveil the spatial mismatch between protests and official noise contours that are supposed to reflect overall annoyanceand sleep disturbance. Then we highlight the high sensitivity of the mandatory noise indicators (Lden, Lnight and dose-effect function) to both their definition and the thresholds considered. Second, we review the legislative process at the time the EU and Flanders adopted their regulation on noise assessment. It appears both the nature of the indicators and thresholds have been the subject of debate by EU Ministers and MPs, while Flanders has imposed a dose-effect function that is arguably outdated and unusable in specific cases. Finally, we discuss the results through the lens of the authoritative power of official noise indicators and related maps, which many journalists and scholars take for granted. All this contributes to the construction of distorted knowledge of noise issues and calls for a re-evaluation of the EU's and Flanders' noise indicators.

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  • Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Efthymiou, Marina, 2020. "When environmental indicators are not neutral: Assessing aircraft noise assessment in Europe," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:88:y:2020:i:c:s0969699720301617
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101861
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Guillaume Burghouwt & Frédéric Dobruszkes, 2014. "The (mis)fortunes of exceeding a small local air market: Comparing Amsterdam and Brussels," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/178190, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chiambaretto, Paul & Mayenc, Elodie & Chappert, Hervé & Engsig, Juliane & Fernandez, Anne-Sophie & Le Roy, Frédéric, 2021. "Where does flygskam come from? The role of citizens’ lack of knowledge of the environmental impact of air transport in explaining the development of flight shame," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    2. Ganić, Emir & Rajé, Fiona & van Oosten, Nico, 2023. "New perspectives on spatial and temporal aspects of aircraft noise: Dynamic noise maps for Heathrow airport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    3. Paul Chiambaretto & Elodie Mayenc & Hervé Chappert & Juliane Engsig & Anne-Sophie Fernandez & Frédéric Le Roy, 2021. "Where does flygskam come from? The role of citizens’ lack of knowledge of the environmental impact of air transport in explaining the development of flight shame," Post-Print hal-03514706, HAL.
    4. Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Grippa, Taïs & Hanaoka, Shinya & Loko, Yéhuègnon & Redondi, Renato & Vowles, Timothy & Wang, Jiaoe, 2021. "Multiple-airport systems: The (re)development of older airports in view of noise pollution issues," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 298-311.

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