Geographies of Urban Sound

By Torsten Wissmann and Dr Torsten Wissmann

Book Overview

Traffic, music, language and nature help to create unique soundscapes that are essential to the place-based character of each city. Taking into account both the urban soundscape and the impacts of sound on the urban dweller, this book examines sound not as a by-product of urban life, but as a fundamental part of the urban experience that is crucial to understanding the city s sense of place. Illustrated by case studies from Europe and North America, these range from on-site measurements to the construction of audio tours for local tourism, from media analysis of popular culture audio drama to sound-identity and city branding, and from the classification of noise in city planning to a consideration of the complex relationship between sacred sound and the creation of a sense of place. Taking a social geographic perspective, the book focuses on the effects of sounds on the individual and how they influence the ways s/he engages the city as place, especially in their daily routines. In doing so, it uncovers the socio-scientific potential of sound in the urban environment, based on the understanding that sound cannot and must not be seen as detached from the urban landscape, but rather as a constituting element. Sound exists not only 'within the city' it 'is' the city.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138270148
• ISBN13: 9781138270145
• Release Date: September 2016
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"