You plunk down a fortune for an aerie in the sky, far away from the noise below—and the first night, two drunks down on the street get into an argument and it sounds like they’re two feet from your pillow. How can this be? We asked noise experts and architects exactly how the sounds of the street can become the soundtrack of your restless night’s sleep.

(Photo: McKibillo)

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• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Carl Swanson