Noise: Environmental Crisis or Opportunity?
Environmental noise is everywhere, from transport corridors and construction sites to energy infrastructure and dense urban development. Yet, unlike air or water pollution, noise is still widely treated as a secondary amenity issue rather than a systemic environmental and public health risk.
As cities densify and the energy transition accelerates, this oversight is becoming increasingly costly. Persistent and low-frequency noise is now shaping where infrastructure can be built, how assets operate, and whether projects retain community trust and social licence. At the same time, emerging technologies and new governance approaches are opening up opportunities to rethink how noise is managed, not just mitigated after the fact.
This session brings together researchers, policymakers, technologists, and infrastructure practitioners to explore a critical question: Is environmental noise an escalating crisis or an untapped opportunity for better design, decision-making, and innovation?
We will examine:
Why environmental noise is increasingly recognised as a public health, equity, and governance issue
How current planning and compliance frameworks often underestimate cumulative and low-frequency impacts
What it means to treat noise as environmental pollution rather than a nuisance
How predictive modelling, digital twins, and active noise control are changing what’s possible
Where early, design-led integration of noise considerations can reduce risk, cost, and conflict
The discussion will move beyond complaints, thresholds, and late-stage mitigation, focusing instead on prevention, system-level thinking, and the role of innovation in enabling quieter, healthier, and more resilient cities.
Who should attend:
Policymakers, planners, sustainability and ESG leaders, engineers, startups, researchers, and anyone working at the intersection of climate action, infrastructure, and urban environments.