Ericson M. Scorsim. Lawyer and Consultant in Public Law, founder of the Civil Association Monitor Ambiental Antirruídos. Author of the e-book Right to cities free from noise pollution.
Public passenger transport buses with combustion engines cause noise pollution in Curitiba every day, during the day and at night, during the week and on weekends. Noise pollution from buses is a symptom of urban underdevelopment. Noise pollution from the public passenger transport system is a symptom of administrative inefficiency and of the service provider. Now, the streets, a public asset where buses travel, are contaminated by noise pollution. The environment, close to where buses circulate, is contaminated by noise pollution. Public assets and environmental assets are impacted by noise pollution from buses with combustion engines. The fundamental premise to consider is that the natural sound environment is an environmental asset to be protected. It is an environmental heritage subject to environmental protection.
And the expectation of quality is a clean, healthy and sustainable city, free from noise pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new urban design based on the principles of sustainable development, ecodesign, environmental eco-efficiency and acoustic environmental sustainability, to guarantee the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable city, free from noise pollution. A new institutional design of these transport infrastructures is necessary, including measures for acoustic environmental monitoring and environmental compensation measures for the environmental damage caused, as well as measures to repair the damage caused to private property.
However, this public transportation system causes harm to the city of Curitiba and its population. Noise pollution is contrary to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Furthermore, according to The UN Resolution No. 76 of 2002, it deals with the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Resolution N. 57/254 deals with education in sustainable development. The UN Resolution that deals with the right to peace is Resolution N. 39/11. Now, bus transportation infrastructure must be innovative and responsible for the environment and health. Furthermore, noise pollution from public transportation directly affects the right to property, as well as the right to housing and the right to privacy.[1] Now, the right to property is a guarantee for freedom, security, health and rest. Noise pollution is a systemic violence against these fundamental rights. Noise violence is an offense to the right to a sound and sustainable environmental peace. Studies show that a peaceful environment is better for the economy.[2] Furthermore, there are environmental rights and principles that are systemically violated by noise pollution. The principles of prohibition of environmental regression, duty of environmental progressiveness, prevention of environmental damage, precaution of environmental damage, environmental justice, intergenerational justice, sustainable environmental peace, environmental equity, environmental security, and polluter pays are systemically violated by noise pollution from buses. Thus, if a city wants to be clean, healthy, sustainable, and also intelligent, it needs to get rid of noise pollution. Public transportation buses are agents that cause degradation of environmental noise quality. Condominiums are impacted by noise pollution from public transportation buses. Commercial establishments are impacted by this noise pollution from public transportation buses. This noise pollution leads to loss of productivity. Internal combustion buses are agents that cause degradation of quality of life, by causing loss of well-being and environmental noise comfort in residential and commercial environments.[3] And to make matters worse, the emission of excessive, unnecessary, harmful noise is a risk factor for harm to health.
There are scientific studies on the psychological and physiological effects of noise on the human body. Excessive, unnecessary and harmful noise has an impact on the brain’s cognitive system, cardiovascular system, sleep, among others.[4] According to the World Health Organization, noise levels above 50 dB (A) are a risk factor for harm to health. And, especially for the traffic and transportation sector, the World Health Organization determines that the noise emission limit for traffic and transportation should be 53 dB (A) during the day and 45 dB (A) at night.[5] The European Union follows the recommendations of the World Health Organization regarding the prevention and control of noise pollution. There is a plan to reduce noise pollution in traffic and transportation by 2030.[6] The European Environment Agency monitors the noise pollution reduction targets.[7] The economic, human, social and environmental costs resulting from environmental pollution caused by buses with combustion engines are not properly priced by the real estate markets. Economic studies show that noise pollution can imply a reduction in the value of real estate between 5% (five percent) and 10%. And differently, economic studies show the economic value of peace and quiet.
For this reason, the risks of environmental noise pollution in the value of properties are not properly measured, nor is the analysis by the real estate market. Curitiba does not monitor public transport buses and does not have proper environmental acoustic monitoring by public agencies, which is an illegal, unconstitutional and immoral situation. Currently, Curitiba has only 7 (seven) electric buses [8], despite having a budget of more than R$ 14.5 billion for 2025.[9] How can this delay in electric mobility in this capital be explained?
Therefore, the municipality has objective environmental responsibility for failing to monitor public transport buses for excessive, unnecessary, harmful and damaging noise emissions. The municipality is responsible for environmental damage caused by failing to control excessive, unnecessary and harmful noise emissions from combustion buses.
Santiago, the capital of Chile, has noise maps, electric buses to scale, and environmental education programs, as well as noise pollution prevention and control systems. Santiago, in Chile, has a fleet of 2,550[10] electric buses. The delay in the sustainable development of urban transportation infrastructure causes harm to property rights, housing rights, health rights, well-being rights, and comfort rights. There is a serious institutional problem regarding the regulation and monitoring of public transportation in Curitiba. There are flaws in the legislation; it is outdated and inadequate for modernizing the public transportation system. There are flaws in the monitoring of public transportation services. There are flaws in the institutional design of concession contracts. Therefore, a new institutional design is essential for an adequate law, adequate concession contracts, and efficient and effective monitoring of public transportation, with environmental performance indexes. Curitiba should adopt an environmental and acoustic governance system, with indicators of public transportation quality, indicators of efficiency and effectiveness of standards, quality indicators of acoustic environmental monitoring, quality indicators to eliminate, reduce, and isolate noise pollution, indicators of environmental compensation for damage caused by noise pollution, among other parameters. In fact, it is essential to impose an environmental compensation system for the excessive burdens caused by public transportation infrastructure by buses, to residential, commercial, and public areas affected by noise pollution.
For further information on this topic, see: Scorsim, Ericson. Cities, free from noise pollution. Curitiba. Author’s edition, 2024. At the Anti-Noise Environmental Monitor Civil Association, of which I am the founder, we defend the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable city, free from noise pollution. We defend the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable street, free from noise pollution. We defend the right to a residential environment, free from noise pollution. We defend the right to safe, clean, healthy and sustainable traffic, free from noise pollution. We defend the right to clean, healthy and sustainable public passenger transport, free from noise pollution. To learn more, see: https://antirruidos.wordpress.com/
[1] JHDales. Pollution, property & prices. University of Toronto Press, 1968.
[2]See: Institute for Economics & Peace. See website: economicsandpeace.org
[3]Even in the economic order the sensory dimension is important, see: Hayerk, Frederic. The sensory order. In inquiry into the Foundations of Theoretical Psychology . Martino Publishing. Mansfiel Centre 2014.
[4]See: ICBEN – International Commission on Biological Effects on Noise.
[5] World Health Organization (WHO) – https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/who-compendium-on-health-and-environment/who_compendium_noise_01042022.pdf
[6] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/zero-pollution-action-plan_en
[7] https://www.eea.europa.eu/pt/articles/a-poluicao-sonora-e-um#:~:text=A%20AEA%20%C3%A9%20respons%C3%A1vel%20pela,sobre%20o%20tema%20da%20AEA .
[8] https://ebusradar.org/#cidades , accessed on 05/07/2025.
[9] https://www.curitiba.pr.gov.br/noticias/seven-electric-buses-are-in-operation-in-curitiba/74702
[10] https://ebusradar.org/#cidades , accessed on 05/07/2025.
