The Buzz of the Big City

The “Buzz” of which I write is disappointingly not the vibrant, cultural and exciting aspects of living in Oslo.

The Buzz refers to the ever present background noise pollution from the city and its impact on residents and nature.

Since my arrival in Oslo, back in 2012, the city has boomed and expanded. Much like other large European cities, many areas have been redeveloped and gentrified, as the need for housing for the ever-burgeoning population has grown.

As most of Oslo is either surrounded by protected woodland or Fjord, the result has been to build higher and to build tighter.

Those old wooden-clad houses have been replaced with modern shiny building materials and tons of concrete.

In all of this, what has been vastly overlooked is how much noise pollution levels have increased both in the city and the woodland surrounding Oslo during this “development”.

In Summer the noise is partially muffled by an extensive tree canopy, and in Winter it is muffled by the snow.

And yet the noise pollution levels even 8 to 10km into Oslomarka are noticeably higher than a decade ago.

This is even more shocking when we factor in and consider the widespread adoption of electric vehicles that have replaced their noisy fossil-fuelled counterparts.

In humans, research has proven that noise pollution is a silent killer. From affecting sleep to disrupting brain waves, the overall picture is not positive.

For Nature, the outlook is even more troubling. Noise pollution is said to have contributed to the rapid decline in the number of birds.

They have been affected both by the decline of insects, due to modern pesticides and de-wilding, but also that they are unable to hear each other’s calls during mating season because of city and urban noise.

Nordmarka noise pollution levels dramatically increased with the building of the blocks of flats between Nydalen and Sinsenkrysset. This “wall” of reflective material echoes all of the noise from Ring 3, the metro (tbanen) and trains up into the surrounding hills and woodland.

That the sound and noise pollution levels, and impact of these projects, were not sufficiently assessed, can potentially damage both the mental health and ecosystem within a vast radius for generations.

With the use of sound-absorbing building materials and the planting of trees this can still be rectified. Wooden-clad sound barriers along the Ring road would help greatly.

Also any buildings higher than three floors should need to undergo a rigorous sound pollution survey to measure the potential detrimental impact, not only nearby, but for up to 10 kilometres.

I appreciate that almost none of this will happen as it incurs extra costs. And so, as so often since the start of industrialization and modern Capitalism, our mental & physical health and our climate will be sold off for the cheapest price to the powers that be.

Doggies: Otto, Poppy and Tiara