Warehouse / Distribution Center Noise: A Growing Concern

摘要

As a result of rapid changes in consumer buying patterns, overseas manufacturing centers and freight/goods transit modes, recent years have seen tremendous growth in the numbers (and sizes) of warehouse and distribution centers*. A single building often can take up hundreds of thousands of square feet, and some are well over a million square feet in size. Such facilities are often sited in formerly undeveloped or overlooked areas on the outskirts of urban areas, such as portions of Southern California's Riverside and San Bernardino Counties or northern Los Angeles County, as well as other locations throughout the United States. These projects bring the promise of renewal and growth to the region and to local communities, primarily through job opportunities. However, such proposed projects have become very controversial; in terms of local community concerns, noise is at the forefront.