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A new acoustic paradigm for cities

Architecture and urban design have traditionally tended to focus on what we see rather than what we hear. When sound is taken into account, it tends to be viewed as a problem to be dealt with through noise control.

Reducing noise is certainly important, especially because the kind and level of noise people are exposed to in urban environments often reflects socio-economic inequalities. And noise can also have a damaging effect on ecosystems, for example by interfering in communication between different species of birds at certain frequencies.

But the Soncities project aims to go beyond the traditional focus on noise control, and to develop more creative approaches towards sound in urban environments. The project brings together specialists from different fields including sound theorists, urban sociologists, architects, urban designers and sound artists. It is also engaging local communities in several cities through field recordings, audio diaries and sonic mapping of neighbourhoods. New tools developed and tested through these collaborations are intended to help create more inclusive and enjoyable sonic environments.

In this episode in our series of podcasts featuring ERC grantees, we spoke with Gascia Ouzounian, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Oxford, about her work to develop a “new acoustic paradigm for cities”.

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