The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment And The Tuning Of The World (35 page)

When a simple solution to a problem exists, an administrator will usually prefer a gummy one. I have already suggested that a simpler way to calculate the ambient noise increase would be to measure the sound signals of the community. The assumption would be that the level of ambient noise would rise in proportion to social signals, which must always remain above it. We did this for Vancouver by measuring the sound levels of different fire engine sirens, beginning with a 1912 La France device (88-96 dBA) and concluding with the newest 1974 siren (114 dBA), all measured at a distance of 3½ to 5 meters. This showed that the signals of emergency vehicles had risen some 20 to 25 decibels in sixty years, or nearly half a decibel per year on the average. The study complements and extends that of our acoustical engineering colleagues quite nicely, and extends our knowledge half a decade into the past. But, alas, few bellies were fed in the process.
^w

Public Reaction to the Rise in Ambient Noise
     If the ambient noise of the modern city is rising by something like half a decibel per year, what does the public think of it? One of the questions we asked municipal officials around the world was to list the noises receiving the most complaints from the public. The table below shows the total number of times each source was mentioned in each general category.

It will be more interesting to see how the complaints vary according to area. From numerous officials we obtained detailed reports on the number of complaints received for various categories of sound nuisance. Although the categories employed differ considerably, by reproducing the figures from six different cities on three continents some conspicuous differences can be observed.

While these statistics have been differently organized, some quite intriguing variations emerge. Note for instance the difference between the chief complaint in London and Chicago; or that between the chief complaint in Johannesburg and Vancouver—two cities of approximately the same population and both in temperate climates. Note also the way the proximity of sea and forest have affected the types of complaint from Vancouver. Also of interest is the varying incidence of traffic noise complaints in the six cities. As the general world survey placed it indisputably at the top of the list of offensive sounds, some explanation is necessary.

Whether a person complains about a sound or decides to bear it may be partly conditioned by whether or not action can be expected as a result f the complaint. This at least was the experience in Chicago. In 1971 a new Chicago ordinance went into effect. It is one of the toughest and most comprehensive anywhere in the world. The immediate reaction to the new law was a dramatic increase in the number of complaints. In 1970 the city government received approximately 120 noise complaints. During the first six months of 1971 (before the new law went into effect) the number rose to approximately 220; but during the latter half of the year it soared to 1,300, and has been steadily climbing ever since.

Increase of noise complaints in the city of Chicago
.

Some Aspects of Noise Legislation
     The only truly effective piece of noise legislation ever devised was in the form of divine punishment. In
The Epic of Gilgamesh (c
. 3000 B.C.) we read:

In those days the world teemed, the people multiplied, the world bellowed like a wild bull, and the great god was aroused by the clamour. Enlil heard the clamour and he said to the gods in council, “The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the babel.” So the gods in their hearts were moved to let loose the deluge.

The first example of a by-law in the modern sense relating to noise was passed by Julius Caesar in his Senatus Consultum of 44 B.C. “Henceforward, no wheeled vehicles whatsover will be allowed within the precincts of the city, from sunrise until the hour before dusk. … Those which shall have entered during the night, and are still within the city at dawn, must halt and stand empty until the appointed hour.” Due to crowding in he narrow streets, wagons were permitted to circulate only at night, which can hardly have assisted sleep. In his third
Satire
, Juvenal
(AD
. 117) says: “It is absolutely impossible to sleep anywhere in the city. The perpetual traffic of wagons in the surrounding streets … is sufficient to wake the dead.”

By the thirteenth century, many towns in England had enacted laws restricting blacksmiths to special areas because of bothersome noise. In the same country, street music had been suppressed by two Acts of Parliament during the reign of Elizabeth I, and we have already mentioned Michael Bass’s celebrated 1864 Bill against the same offense. Similar legislation was common to all countries of Europe. By selecting one city we can get a historical overview of the situation for Central Europe.