Those worst affected houses in London are in general not just decades old, they are well on their way to being centuries old!
Not only do they have no sound insulation, but they may also have little thermal insulation, and ill-fitting single-glazed windows and doors.
For some time it's been possible to get grants to thermally insulate a house, largely since it is only really economic to do so in the long term (the energy savings also contribute to cutting CO2 emmissions), and poorer people living in the poorer housing can't afford it, and are usually renting anyway.
It's great to hear that the government may be recognizing noise pollution as something which significantly affects people's health in the same way that it recognizes air pollution as doing so.
Noise pollution from traffic causes sleep-deprevation, stress and ultimately illness, and most of the people living in the worst affected housing have little choice in where they live; it's not a choice of moving to somewhere nice and quiet, because that's where all the rich people have moved to.
Slashdot Mirror
Combine this with a robotic nose and a little more homeland security and we have a Fahrenheit 451 situation here!
Those worst affected houses in London are in general not just decades old, they are well on their way to being centuries old!
Not only do they have no sound insulation, but they may also have little thermal insulation, and ill-fitting single-glazed windows and doors.
For some time it's been possible to get grants to thermally insulate a house, largely since it is only really economic to do so in the long term (the energy savings also contribute to cutting CO2 emmissions), and poorer people living in the poorer housing can't afford it, and are usually renting anyway.
It's great to hear that the government may be recognizing noise pollution as something which significantly affects people's health in the same way that it recognizes air pollution as doing so.
Noise pollution from traffic causes sleep-deprevation, stress and ultimately illness, and most of the people living in the worst affected housing have little choice in where they live; it's not a choice of moving to somewhere nice and quiet, because that's where all the rich people have moved to.