Geographies of Urban Sound (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781409462194)

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.

Author: Torsten Wissmann
ISBN-10: 1409462196
ISBN-13: 9781409462194
Publisher: Routledge
Language: English
Published: 05/22/2014
Pages: 278
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.69d