ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF AIRCRAFT NOISE EXPOSURE AT CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

Worldwide, aircraft noise is an environmental problem with social, technical and economic ramifications. The problem arises from increased air traffic, urban encroachment and uncoordinated planning near airports. In developing countries like South Africa this problem is often deemed to be of little importance. The paper provides a background sketch of the development of Cape Town International Airport and the noise control framework. It provides a brief overview of noise measurement and the way in which GIS is employed to determine the noise `footprint' and manifestations of human exposure. The paper explores international findings about the effects of noise on incompatible land uses and vulnerable populations around major airports. GIS is employed to empirically establish the potential noise exposure of variously defined sensitive land use categories and vulnerable population groups in the noise-affected area at Cape Town International Airport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]