Meta-analysis is applied to the negative relationship between airport noise exposure and residential property values. The effect size in the analysis is the percent depreciation per decibel increase in airport noise, or the noise discount. Twenty hedonic property value studies are analyzed, covering 33 estimates of the noise discount for 23 airports in Canada and the United States. About one-third of the estimates have not been previously reported in the literature or were not included in previous meta-analyses. The weighted-mean noise discount is 0.58% per decibel. A meta-regression analysis examines the variability in the noise discounts that might be due to country, year, sample size, model specification, mean property value, data aggregation, or accessibility to airport employment and travel opportunities. The analysis indicates that country and model specification have some effect on the measured noise discount, but the other variables have little systematic effect. The cumulative noise discount in the U.S. is about 0.5% to 0.6% per decibel at noise exposure levels of 75 dB or less, while in Canada the discount is 0.8 % to 0.9% per decibel.

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Meta-analysis of airport noise and hedonic property values : problems and prospects

Aviation noise is a harmful pollutant, which has yet to be studied in the environmental justice literature. This paper uses Tobit and logit multivariate regression analyses to analyze noise pollution exposure from a major commercial-service airport. It addresses the issue of whether people moved to the aviation noise-impacted areas or the noise encroached on the people, and controls for economic and political costs as well as the possibility of racial and ethnic prejudice. The results indicate that ethnicity is the primary cause of the disproportionate burden of aviation noise pollution borne by Hispanics in the area analyzed.

Aviation noise and environmental justice: the barrio barrier*

This synthesis study is intended to inform airport operators, stakeholders, and policy makers of updated information about aviation noise effects. In the decades since Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Report No. FAA-EE-85-2 "Aviation Noise Effects" was first published in 1985 much has changed in the understanding of this complex issue. Increased air travel, new and quieter aircraft, increased awareness of land use planning and aviation noise, and mitigation of previously incompatible land uses are just a few of the changes. Knowledge of the effects of aviation noise has also changed. The greatest increases in knowledge have come in the areas of health effects, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and potential effects on children's learning abilities in schools. Other areas of increased knowledge include parks and wilderness areas, wildlife and domestic animals, and property values. Knowledge has also increased on the effects of meteorology and topography on aviation noise. This document is intended to synthesize research since 1985 to update and compliment the original FAA report, primarily by providing an annotated bibliography and summary of new research in selected topic areas. Although research inquiry has progressed in many areas, there is still much to be learned. The reader is encouraged to review each chapter for additional information and to be directed to source material.

Effects of Aircraft Noise: Research Update on Selected Topics

Airport noise and wildlife conservation: What are we missing?

Stigmatized property is real estate burdened with an external negative effect. Individual cases are spread along a broad spectrum, along many dimensions that include the rational and the irrational, the acute and the chronic. Examples for the stigmatizing effect are a nearby airport, ground water contaminated by chemicals, presence of a high-voltage power line, and so on. Eval­uation of these properties needs special methodology. Stigma can reduce the property’s market value through a particular, multi-layered filter. The author systematically examines the professional literature’s cases of evaluation of stigmatized properties. The research aims to organize and compare the cases in order to calculate the market value of stigmatized properties. Based on the analysis, six significant dimensions are identified. A focus group of 19 experts examined and individually evaluated the stigma­tizing effects along these different dimensions. The author suggests that it is possible to estimate the stigma’s effect and compare different cases to one another effectively. The results allow the international methodology of valu­ation to be processed.

Evaluation of stigmatized properties

This report describes the results of a bottom up examination of the impact of airport noise on housing values. The primary objective of this assessment was to determine whether a valid national level determination regarding the impact of airport noise on housing values could be made based on studies at individual airports. The studies were not intended to obtain precise values of the noise impact on property values around the airports that were considered. An analytical approach was designed that combined quantitative techniques in a way that complements each and overcomes some of the shortcomings of previous studies that exclusively used one technique or the other. In recognition of the fact that local conditions can significantly affect real estate markets, this approach makes extensive use of local realtors and appraisers who are familiar with the area and any unique factors that must be considered when assessing the value of residential properties.

Jack P. Chen

Papers

The Impact of Airport Noise on Housing Values: A Summary Report,