Planning for Citizens' Health: Towards an Integrated Approach to Air and Noise Pollution in the EU

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic has unfolded the close relationship between good environmental quality in urban areas and public health. The abrupt closure of economic activities through lockdown measures have shown how the concentration of air pollutants and noise from different sources are long-standing, major environmental and health issues in the European Union, especially in highly populated urban areas. Scientific evidence underscores that simultaneous exposure to air pollutants and noise constitutes a mutually reinforcing threat to human health. However, the current regulatory approaches in the European legislation still fall short in addressing the issues of air and noise pollution in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The lack of harmonized and effective planning regime for air and noise pollution runs against the objectives pursued by the European Green Deal, whereas an effective and integrated response to environmental issues should underpin EU policies in the post Covid-19 recovery. This contribution thus analyzes two key EU legal regimes addressing air and noise pollution, namely Directive 2008/50/EC and Directive 2002/49/EC, respectively, to appraise their mutual pitfalls against the said need to adopt an integrated response to air and noise pollution. Moreover, the paper sheds further light on innovative approaches, such as integrated urban planning, citizen science and Internet of Things as key means to enhance cities' resilience and support the implementation of effective legal responses to air and noise pollution.