Inequalities in noise will affect urban wildlife

Area of Science:

• Urban Ecology
• Environmental Justice
• Acoustic Ecology

Background:

• Systemic biases, like historical redlining, have profound socioecological consequences in urban environments.
• Previous research links redlining to unequal distribution of environmental harms and goods, but its effect on urban noise remains unclear.
• Understanding noise distribution is crucial for equitable urban planning and conservation efforts.

Approach:

• Conducted a spatial analysis correlating urban noise levels with historical redlining categories across the U.S.
• Performed a systematic literature review to synthesize the known effects of noise on urban wildlife.

Key Points:

• Strong evidence indicates that noise is inequitably distributed in historically redlined urban communities.
• This inequitable noise distribution likely drives complex biological responses in diverse urban wildlife populations.
• Findings underscore the interconnectedness of social inequities and ecological outcomes in urban landscapes.

Conclusions:

• Historical redlining contributes to unequal noise pollution in U.S. cities.
• Inequitable urban noise can negatively impact wildlife, reinforcing social-ecological disparities.
• Future research should integrate acoustic and urban ecology with a focus on equity and challenging systemic oppression.