In any city, residents are immersed in an unique urban soundscape – from traffic and sirens to leaf blowers, music, and laughter. While some of these sounds contribute to a city’s vibrant social fabric, noise pollution poses a serious threat to both mental and physical health, with impacts that can last a lifetime. Our hearing evolved as an early warning system, which means that excessive noise, even during sleep, triggers a fight-or-flight response that floods our bodies with stress hormones like cortisol. This constant stress doesn’t just affect our mental wellbeing – leading to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment – it also takes a physical toll, elevating heart rates and blood pressure. Over time, this chronic exposure can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and even lead to lower birth weights in pregnant women.

The severity of these health impacts has led the World Health Organization to classify noise as a pollutant since 1972, while the European Environmental Agency ranks noise second only to air pollution as the most harmful environmental exposure. Like many environmental hazards, noise pollution disproportionately affects low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, which are more likely to be located near major highways, airports, and industrial areas. Beyond human health, urban noise disrupts wildlife ecosystems, interfering with animal communication and altering community structures in ways we are only beginning to understand.

Despite overwhelming evidence and warnings from health organizations, the United States has taken limited action to protect its citizens from noise pollution. The federal government hasn’t funded noise control research since the 1980s, leaving cities like Boston to tackle these challenges alone. In 2023, Massport received 218,759 airport-related noise complaints, highlighting the scale of the problem. While some municipalities have taken small steps – such as Cambridge’s planned 2027 ban on gas-powered leaf blowers – progress remains slow. Community Sound Lab, a research group at Boston University, is working to address these challenges through laboratory and community-based monitoring. MYK is working to contribute to this vital research by measuring noise impacts on public spaces and developing landscape design and planning strategies to better support positive aural environments, and reduce exposure to noise pollution.