Environmental noise as an important legal factor in the rehabilitation of the acoustic urban environment

Abstract

Noise is an important environmental factor affecting all problems related to the degradation of the urban environment and the quality of life. In Greece, quality of life has been established as a legal conception protected by the Constitution (Article 24: "The Protection of the natural and cultural environment is an obligation of the state and examined by the judge"). The realization of the need for legal cover of environmental protection has led to the creation of an autonomous branch of law, that of environmental law, whose primary purpose is the all-encompassing legal approach of the environmental problem. The basic characteristics of this type of law are its intense pragmatic and empirical character, and its great dependence on E.U. legislation and its close relationship with economic growth and technology. For the comprehensive investigation of the acoustic landscape, but also for other goals derived from urban planning, it is essential for environmental impact studies to precede the two phases of urban planning i.e. "General Urban Plans" and "Specific Urban Studies" (Urban Plans, Local Plans) and before their approval, in order to identify, assess and propose measures for dealing with environmental impacts which will be brought upon by these plans on the impacted area, as well as on neighboring areas (1). In this acoustic environmental control, primarily at the level of General Urban Plans and Urban planning studies, where a land use distribution is made, where building regulations are imposed etc., the protection of the acoustic environment has to be taken into account. Quality of life is characterized by the sound environment, which contributes to the spaces' aesthetic determination. The existing Greek legislation deals with noise in a basis of a quantitative approach i.e. max permissible levels per source, and does not take into account a wider conception of the acoustic environment. Regulations regarding urban planning, do not implement noise as a design parameter, except certain cases (i.e. protection of special buildings). This is mainly due to the fact, that some necessary administrative decrees and directives, for which the relevant legal authorization already exists, are still not implemented. Therefore, important administrative actions remain inactive and noise protection ineffective.