Soundwalking as a methodology for understanding soundscapes

Adams, MD; Bruce, NS; Davies, WJ; Cain, R; Jennings, P; Carlyle, A; Cusack, P; Hume, K; Plack, C

Abstract

Soundwalking is a practice that was devised by R. Murray Schafer, when he established the World
Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is an
empirical method for identifying a soundscape and components of a soundscape in various
locations. In the EPSRC-funded Positive Soundscapes Project (Davies et al, 2007) we have
utilized and adapted this concept of soundwalking into a sociological methodology for identifying
and understanding people’s experiences and perceptions of the acoustic urban environment. Our
soundwalk is a walk around an urban area where the senses are directed towards the sounds that
are heard rather than the more commonplace sights that are viewed. We focus on everyday
practices, as people move around and within the city environment with a view to understanding their
professional and/or personal impressions of the relationships between the soundscape and the built
infrastructure. This paper describes the development of the soundwalking methodology and its use
as a tool to engage professionals who work in the area of urban design and urban development
(including city planners, developers, and architects). The paper does not report on the findings of
this project as data collection is currently ongoing but rather reflects on the utility of soundwalking
as a methodological practice.

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: Institute of Acoustics Spring Conference 2008
• Start Date: Apr 10, 2008
• End Date: Apr 11, 2008
• Deposit Date: Nov 20, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 20, 2009
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference