Tulsa Law Review Volume 53 Issue 1 Article 2 Fall 2017 How Science Can Improve Regulation: Noise Control in Urban Areas Luis Inaraja Vera Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/tlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Luis I. Vera, How Science Can Improve Regulation: Noise Control in Urban Areas, 53 Tulsa L. Rev. 33 (2017). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/tlr/vol53/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by TU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Tulsa Law Review by an authorized editor of TU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Vera: How Science Can Improve Regulation: Noise Control in Urban Areas HOW SCIENCE CAN IMPROVE REGULATION: NOISE CONTROL IN URBAN AREAS Luis Inaraja Vera* The issue of noise is becoming increasingly problematic in urban areas. Research has revealed that it not only contributes to hearing loss, but also to cardiovascular disease, psychiatric disorders, and even slower language development and learning in children. Preventing these effects would require a significant decrease in noise levels. However, experts report that community noise levels are actually increasing. Moreover, zoning in many cities and towns is shifting to a model in which different types of land uses tend to be closer to one another, which increases the potential for conflict over noise. This Article draws on the scientific literature on noise to argue that cities can alle- viate this problem by improving noise ordinances and proposes a non-exhaustive list of measures aimed at reaching this goal.