Human annoyance, acceptability and concern as
responses to vibration from the construction of light
rapid transit lines in residential environments

Wong-McSweeney, DBC; Woodcock, JS; Peris, E; Waddington, David; Moorhouse, AT; Redel-Macias, MD

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of different self-reported measures for assessing the human response to environmental vibration from the construction of an urban LRT (Light Rapid Transit) system. The human response to environmental stressors such as vibration and noise is often expressed in terms of exposure–response relationships that describe annoyance as a function of the magnitude of the vibration. These relationships are often the basis of noise and vibration policy and the setting of limit values. This paper examines measures other than annoyance by expressing exposure–response relationships for vibration in terms of self-reported concern about property damage and acceptability. The exposure–response relationships for concern about property damage and for acceptability are then compared with those for annoyance. It is shown that concern about property damage occurs at vibration levels well below those where there is any risk of damage. Earlier research indicated that concern for damage is an important moderator of the annoyance induced. Acceptability, on the other hand, might be influenced by both annoyance and concern, as well as by other considerations. It is concluded that exposure–response relationships expressing acceptability as a function of vibration exposure could usefully complement existing relationships for annoyance in future policy decisions regarding environmental vibration. The results presented in this paper are derived from data collected through a socio-vibration survey (N = 321) conducted for the construction of an urban LRT in the United Kingdom.

Citation

rapid transit lines in residential environments. Science of the Total Environment, 568, 1308-1314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.121

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 20, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Feb 11, 2016
• Publication Date: Oct 15, 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 1, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2017
• Journal: Science of the Total Environment
• Print ISSN: 0048-9697
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-1026
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 568
• Pages: 1308-1314
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.121
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.121
• Related Public URLs: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment/
• Additional Information: Funders : DEFRA;MAPFRE Foundation; Grant Number: Defra NANR209; Grant Number: MAPFRE Foundation BIL/14/P2/161