Recent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and American Institute of Architects decisions about speech privacy: What do they mean? Free

Fifty years of research and development in speech privacy that began in 1955 produced total demand for services and solutions by 2005 of less than $100 million a year. But suddenly this is changing due to the convergence of several forces that include: a surge of security and privacy laws over the past decade; growing concern about the noise epidemic in healthcare; and corporate concerns about privacy in business decision‐making such as the SEC suit against Hewlett Packard. Result: recent decisions by the American Institute of Architects, LEED/U.S. Green Building Council, and the Green Guide for Healthcare that, for the first time, recognize speech privacy as an objective, measurable phenomenon. These decisions will produce demand for professional advice and counsel. Is the 8000‐member acoustics profession prepared to meet a sudden increase in demand for services related to privacy measurement, mitigation, and certification? What needs to happen to ensure the profession continues to play a role in implementing and enforcing this basic but only recently recognized civil right?