Government
What a City's 'Soundscape' Reveals About Its Character
Researchers at MIT are asking people to record the sounds of their streets, which can reveal the social and economic dynamics of a place.
Take a walk down your street and what do you hear? In a typical city, the most dominating sounds are those of vehicles whizzing by or of cars honking at one another. But if you listen closely, you can hear all kinds of different sounds masked by the traffic. You might hear the faint announcement of a DJ coming from someone’s car radio, the tolling of a church bell, the instruments of a street musician, or the chatter between a vendor and his customer.
Take a listen, for example, to all the different sounds of Boyle Heights, a busy street in Los Angeles. This was recorded back in April by three researchers for a project called LA Listens, and all the traffic noise has been digitally removed.