Abstract
Due to its negative health effects, noise policy has been developed in the Netherlands during the last four decades, aimed at preventing and reducing noise by road and railway traffic, industry and aviation. Academic literature illustrated that significant changes have occurred in many sectoral environmental policy domains, frequently known as
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a shift from ' government' to 'governance'. Examples include decentralisation, integration into other policy sectors, and implementation of policy instruments involving private sectors. Such interactive and deliberative approaches seem to be absent in the Dutch noise policy domain, that is characterised as a combination of centralised and decentralised governance styles. In addition, noise pollution has still not been resolved despite having Dutch and international noise policy in place since many decades. The percentage of annoyed population remained at the level of the 1980s. The consequent questions arise as to whether the observations of limited dynamics and limited effectiveness are correct, and if so, how to explain these. In this meta-analysis of Dutch noise policy different theoretical perspectives and analytical frameworks from academic policy analysis literature is employed. Based on the governance literature (e.g. Lange et al., Hysing) the main factors for the identification and description of governance modes are selected. Subsequently (the differences in) dynamics in noise policy subsystems for (road and railway) traffic, aircraft and industrial noise are further analysed regarding regulative noise limits, using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) of Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith. Integration of noise policy into spatial planning, as a specific governance approach, is studied using concepts of Environmental Policy Integration theory (e.g. Jordan, Nilsson, Persson). The main findings of this research underline the preliminary observations on limited dynamics in the Dutch noise policy domain during the last 40 years. No evidence was found of shifts towards sound(er) noise policy, actors and advocacy coalitions have been stable, and integrative experiments in terms of prioritisation of noise and health objectives vis-à-vis spatial planning objectives were had limited effects. Subsequently the effectiveness of Dutch noise policy instrument mixes has been evaluated, employing a stepwise approach based upon, amongst others, Hoogerwerf’s policy theory and Mickwitz’s effectiveness evaluation. The conclusion is that Dutch noise policy has been limitedly effective specifically due to the weak policy instrumentation addressing cars (drivers). The thesis concludes with a discussion of three cross-cutting explanatory factors, that is problem framing, agenda setting and problem ownership. In order to shift towards sound policy, far-reaching solutions are needed regarding multi-level and multi-sector governance, institutionalisation of policy learning, introduction of new policy instruments, and new narratives on sustainable soundscape.
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