Background A range of studies have demonstrated that noise influences our sense of our social surrounding. EU Directive 49/2002/CE on Environmental Noise (END) defines a “Quiet Area” (QA) as an area that is delimited by a competent authority and is not exposed to a noise above a certain threshold (set by the Member State), from any noise source. This definition is not clear enough to make an appropriate assessment and manage QAs in an urban environment. Current practices for the selection, assessment and management of QAs in EU Countries, though regulated by the END Directive, appear to be extremely fragmented and varied. Each country has adopted a set of strategies related to its specific context, which makes it difficult to transfer strategies among EU countries. Objectives The main objective of the QUADMAP project is to develop a harmonised methodology for the selection, quantitative and qualitative assessment management of urban QAs. Data collection will be carried out in Belgium, France Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the UK, and pilot areas, where interventions will be implemented, will be located in Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. A harmonised approach will lead to a completely new monitoring tool, which will make it possible to monitor the QA management of Member States on the basis of common QA indicators. Expected results: Guidelines on a harmonised methodology for the selection, assessment and management (action planning) of QAs. This will increase the success of QA management with respect to current procedures and will provide a good basis for the review of current directives; A publicly available database, comprising a comprehensive list of collected and studied methodologies, highlighting their limitations; The database will also contain survey results of citizens' acceptance of QAs, which will give users access to historical and geographical data on the successes and failures of END Directive derived applications for QAs - the first known survey on the real state of QA management in the EU; and All field data employed for case studies will be published, along with application examples (design solutions). They will provide a tuition tool, which will reduce the learning curve and minimise the time required for the adoption of the new methodology.