Organizations and Resources
Addressing Rural and Urban Noise Issues

Positive Soundscapes - An innovative UK organization that "aims to broaden the current paradigm of noise control toward an understanding of how positive sounds can be characterised and designed into the everyday environment. The work involves integrating perspectives from acoustic engineering, social science and sound art to produce a holistic account of sound perception in the environment. There are artistic, qualitative, scientific and practical aspects to their work. [WEBSITE]

WindAction - Compiles nearly every news report, governmental policy (natoinal to local), and scientific study addressing the wind energy development, both on land and in the ocean. Primarily anti-wind in orientation; has good noise coverage, but not noise-centered. [WEBSITE]

Noise Awareness Day / LHH Noise Center - Sponsored every April by the League for the Hard of Hearing, this annual event raises awareness about the excess noise generated by daily life. [WEBSITE]

Noise Consultancy - Works with municipalities to develop noise ordinances. [WEBSITE]

Noise Pollution Clearinghouse - Provides information and advice to individuals and organizations dealing with noise issues nationwide. [WEBSITE] Archive of City, County, and State Noise Ordinances [WEBSITE]

Noise Free America - A new national organization focusing on urban noise pollution issues. Sponsors monthly "awards" to cities with specific noise problems. Local chapters are springing up around the country. [WEBSITE]
Affiliated Organizations:
Rochester, NY chapter [WEBSITE]

Campaign to Protect Rural England Tranquility Program
The CPRE Tranquility program has pulled together an impressive array of data and public input into a series of "tranquility maps" and publications aimed at promoting the value of tranquility and the need to protect it before it's over run. They cite surveys that suggest that "tranquility" is valued by more people than scenery or open space; they've created a model for their tranquility maps that carefully weights and factors in both the positive features of tranquility that people seek, and the negative factors that impinge on tranquility (the relative number of other people is more important than the proximity of roads, for instance). Among the factors being tracked are the maximum noise in a particular area, and the time-weighted noise (averaged over the course of the day). The work being done by these folks deserves extended study by anyone working with public responses to noise. [WEBSITE] [BROCHURE] [MAPPING TRANQUILITY REPORT(60p. PDF)] [SAVING TRANQUIL PLACES (12p PDF)]

French National Noise Information Center - [WEBSITE]

UK Noise Association - Works on many noise issues, including traffic, wind farms, and low frequency noise. [WEBSITE]

National Society for Clean Air - UK org that sponsored Noise Action Day [WEBSITE]

Silent Majority - New York based group working to ban car alarms. [WEBSITE]

Pipedown - UK-based organization centered on reducing "canned music" in stores and restaurants. [WEBSITE]

Right to Quiet Society - Based in Vancouver, this is a small organization with a big agenda: reducing unwanted noise in our society. Their newsletter offers background philosophy, features on specific noise problems and how people have gone about addressing them, and encouragement for everything from becoming active in local policymaking to leaving complaint cards at stores and restaurants deploying annoying Muzak. Their web site will get you up to speed, and is also an entry point for their very interesting listserv discussion on quietude issues. [WEBSITE]
Maintains a comprehensive list of quiet-advocacy organizations; URLs checked monthly! [WEB PAGE]

HEAVEN (Healthier Environments through Abatement of Vehicle Emissions and Noise) - Launched in January 2001, this program aims to provide practical information and technologies to help urban planners address air quality and noise issues related to automobile traffic patterns. [WEB SITE]
[EMAIL]

Institute for Noise Control Engineering - Non profit organization that sponsors conferences for noise control professionals. [WEBSITE]

Institute for Safe, Quiet and Durable Highways - Based at Purdue Univerisity, the institute conducts research aimed at reducing the noise created by tires and highways. [PRESS RELEASE] [WEBSITE]

Quiet Australia - A collection of organizations working in noise pollution issues across Australia. [WEBSITE]

World Forum for Acoustic Ecology - Wide-ranging collection of resources and links related to noise and sound. [WEBSITE]