High and persistent levels of noise have a range of adverse health impacts on human beings, including increased blood pressure and cardiac activity, loss of sleep and increased levels of stress. Furthermore, children who experience chronic noise have been shown to have lower levels of reading comprehension and long-term memory. 

In addition to the impact noise has on mental and physical health, high noise levels have negative impacts on property values which can negatively impact the economic health of entire neighborhoods. 

In 2017, a study conducted by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the University of California at Berkeley found that noise levels are generally higher in neighborhoods where there is a large proportion of BIPOC residents. Noise is typically emitted from industrial activity, traffic and nearby airports. That same year, the St. Louis Federal Reserve found that BIPOC neighborhoods in Atlanta experience increased levels of noise caused by airline flight paths which are concentrated over these communities. This is not surprising. Companies and governments routinely target disenfranchised communities because they usually lack political power to mount effective opposition to projects.  

Noise pollution is a social, economic and environmental justice issue. Georgia WAND is committed to protecting our communities and empowering them with the resources they need to advocate for their future. 

Learn more about the effects of noise pollution:

• In Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood, there’s the constant sound of construction and traffic across Thomas Robinson’s apartment complex. “A lot of time it keeps me angry. Because I have to keep my windows down,” Robinson said. “Three o’clock in the morning, you can hear banging and extreme noises that keep you awake half of the night.”

• The human and environmental impacts of excessive noise pollution are detailed in this article from National Geographic. 

• Road traffic noise study in Fulton County shows elevated exposure to noise pollution for Atlanta residents. 

• The Georgia State Department of Transportation is responsible for monitoring noise and enforcing regulations.