Hearing as a way of dwelling: the active sense-making of environmental risk and nuisance

The goal of integrating a broad set of stakeholders and local knowledges in environmental decisionmaking can come into conflict with the aim of effectively regulating environmental change through the establishment of standardised methods. In this paper I explore public perceptions of environmental change as active sense-making with respect to a particular aspect of the environment-sounds and noise. I use a case study of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for the planned extension of an airport in Sweden. I focus on how local citizens reacted to the issue of airport noise as discussed in the EIA, as well as on local perceptions of noise. Analysis of local peoples' perceptions of environmental change raises questions concerning the meaning of environmental protection versus individual rights, the population affected by a development, and the issue of financial compensation versus commitment to dialogue. These questions must be raised in order to assess whether EIA fulfils its goal of increasing dialogue and building more participatory structures within the planning process.