Soundscape

‘Simultaneously a physical environment and a way of perceiving that environment: it is both a world and a culture constructed to make sense of that world. The physical aspects of a  soundscape consist not only of the sounds themselves […] but also the material objects that create, and sometimes destroy, those sounds. A soundscape’s cultural aspects  incorporate scientific and aesthetic ways of listening, a listener’s relationship to their  environment, and the social circumstances that dictate who gets to hear what’

Emily Thompson: The Soundscape of Modernity

 The Zones of Tranquility are discussed in relation to the sonic environment around the river Taff on its journey through Cardiff, where the project is currently being developed. Civic engagement is at three levels: participants, local inhabitants, and the public. The participants become custodians of stretches of river. Their initial activity is to map the "zone of tranquil access" along the river, to which pedestrian access extends, and within which their minds are able to listen attentively without being crowded out by too much sound. They plot the zone's properties onto a device called a "listening wheel" and onto a river map. The participants then shift their focus of listening to conversations with locals about the zone, its value to them, the sonic habitats that give rise to it, and their ecological health. The wheel and map, scaled up to fill a hall and mounted on tables, allow participants and locals to share their findings with one another. They become iconic features around which participants can engage the public about ideas for change.

SOUNDSCAPE AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMANT

Symposium and exhibition

Curated by Conall Gleeson & Jonathan Milo Taylor

University of Brighton and ONCA gallery