DEMOGRAPHIC CONTOURS

OCTOBER 3, 2026

The official communication on RNP 07L flight decisions covers aerospace and economic calculations. The city, urban life, and human health beneath the flight path, and research on the cost of chronic noise exposure (WHO, 2018; EEA, 2025), remain largely out of scope.

As an experiment, I confronted two sets of data still treated as separate worlds in airport planning: the age structure that situates the youngest neighbourhoods of the Brussels Capital Region, and the noise contours of this flight route, modelled and traced earlier this year (CGX AERO, 2026; FA4B, 2026). Placed over one another, they express a need for a communication on aircraft planning that starts from what it affects most, and an impact assessment to match.

Noise contours do not fall evenly. They concentrate over the youngest neighbourhoods of the region.

Bibliography: 

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Boucsein, B., Christiaanse, K., Kasioumi, E., & Salewski, C. (2017). The noise landscape: A spatial exploration of airports and cities. nai010 uitgevers.

Claus, C., Loupas, G., Kritopoulou, P., & Georgakopoulou, N. (2024). Sonic Drift CDA: Performance of an AI-based sonic geographic dérive. In M. Boubezari, C. R. Duarte, & E. Pinheiro (Eds.), Sensory explorations, ambiances in a changing world: Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Ambiances (pp. 432–443). International Ambiances Network, Oct 2024, Lisbonne, Portugal. (ISBN: 978-989-757-300-2).

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European Environment Agency. (2025). Environmental noise in Europe: 2025. Publications Office.

Free Air Brussels North (collectif citoyen) & Collectif Stop Survol Bxl Nord et RNP 07L. (n.d.). [Facebook pages].  

FA4B — Free Air Brussels North (2026). Noise contours RNP 07L. https://fa4b.net

CGX AERO. (2026). Trajectoire alternative moindre bruit en piste 07L EBBR: Analyse comparative des
ajustements possibles d’approche en piste 07L sur l’aéroport de Bruxelles. Castres: CGX AERO.

Peterson, M. (2021). Atmospheric noise: The indefinite urbanism of Los Angeles. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478013174

Goodman, S. (2009). Sonic warfare: Sound, affect, and the ecology of fear. MIT Press.

World Health Organization. (2018). Environmental noise guidelines for the European region. https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289053563


How to cite:

Claus, C. (2026). RNP 07 | Sonic Journal. https://clauscaroline.be/rnp-07/