Protection against noise is one of the major challenges of present environmental policy. The roots of noise reduction policies date back to the 19th century. However, it was not until the late 1950s, during the period of reconstruction after the 2nd World War, that the issue of noise reduction attracted sustained political attention. Over the course of five decodes, a complex set of noise related legislation has evolved in Germany. Its main structural feature is a three tier approach that includes (i) measures for noise reduction at source, (ii) noise-related considerations in spatial and infrastructural planning, and (iii) the management of existing noise. A severe deficit of current noise legislation is, however, its segmented consideration of different noise sources, i.e., limit values for maximum levels of noise exposure frequently refer to only one specific source of noise, but foil to take into account already existing noise exposure from other sources. Furthermore, the achievement of a more consistent implementation of noise protection standards will require the setting of binding emission limit values. In recent years, EU legislation has assumed on important influence in German noise legislation.
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