The term may sound new to you, as it did to me. A ‘soundscape’ is the equivalent of a ‘landscape’ but related to the invisible dimension of vibrations. Just as there are pleasant and unpleasant sights when it comes to perceiving the beauty or ugliness of a landscape, so too when it comes to the world of sound.
The word goes back at least to an MIT grad and city planner by the name of Michael Southworth, who reportedly first coined the term ‘soundscape’ already in 1969. The expression was birthed in response to the sonic invasion experienced in city environments, whose ill effects are now well known. Noise is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, such as elevated blood pressure, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes. Noise also leads to inadequate sleep, ongoing stress, bad mood, and poor learning and working environments. In addition, National Geographic highlights how negative soundscapes also have unwanted repercussions on biodiversity and other forms of life.
More recently, the United Nations Environmental Programme defined a ‘positive soundscape’ as one where people (and other living creatures) perceive and respond to the full range of vibrations in a place at a given time, experiencing pleasant and wanted rather than tedious and unwanted sounds. Most natural sounds usually signal a safe environment, and thus reduce anxiety and foster mental peace and regeneration.
Regardless of its origin, the notion of a ‘soundscape ‘opens up a welcomed alternative to speak positively about sounds. They counteract the negative reality we know as ‘noise pollution’. Intrusive sounds, invasive clatter, or undesirable noise all need a concrete, positive counterpart that we can work towards.
That said, as far as Google Trends shows, the notion and awareness of positive ‘soundscapes’ remains increasingly unspoken of during the past 20 years.
The Connection Between Sound, Economics, and Wellbeing
Even more rare is the connection between a positive soundscape and municipal sustainability. And the oddity begs a question: to what extent can silence and positive sounds be an implicit indicator of sustainability and holistic well-being of urban centers?
It’s no news that combustion vehicles are a driving force of global warming. In turn, an economic analysis by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs estimates that the annual social cost of urban road noise in England alone is between US$9 billion and US$15.5 billion. This places noise pollution at a magnitude similar to the economic losses associated with traffic accidents (US$11.5 billion) and significantly greater than the impact of climate change (US$1.2 to 5 billion).
Considering the costs of transport-related noise, other analysts estimate that for noise levels between 55 and 65 decibels, the value of the damage amounts to 23.5 Euros per decibel per household per year. In turn, a cost-benefit estimate published in Transport Policy in regards to implementing transport-related noise reduction measures in the Netherlands, showed that benefits almost triple the costs associated with noise reduction.
In one way or another, cutting down emissions from combustion is good for the climate—let alone for one’s health and one’s ears. And, as it turns out, positive soundscapes also overlap with healthier cities and more sustainable urban centers in at least three ways (which are rather simple albeit not simplistic).
I. Re-Engineering toward Active Mobility
While electric vehicles are more silent, they nevertheless require active energy inputs (and significant ones, for that matter). And they require mining for precious metals. And they still leave the battery-recycling problem largely unresolved. And they do little to solve the stress and urban sprawl related to traffic jams. (Despite their charm, it’s a no-brainer that a traffic jam of Tesla vehicles is still a traffic jam.)
In contrast, following the active hierarchy outlined in the ‘mobility pyramid’ put together by Share North, trailblazing cities continue to shift towards increasingly active modes of mobility. Leading urban centers are re-engineered to become compact and thus require less passive mobility in the first place. Hence they cut down costs (and fees and taxes) by cutting down on fuel consumption (and on electricity consumption, for that matter). Besides being more economically efficient, more walkable and cyclable cities are also quieter and healthier. Active mobility goes hand in hand with cost reductions, pollution reduction, and positive soundscapes.
In these respects, so-called “superblocks” are proving to be a promising alternative to convert already-built urban infrastructure towards more positive soundscapes. Following the lead of the City of Barcelona, forward-leaning municipalities are turning existing road grids into spaces for pedestrians, restaurants, street artists, and green corridors. What were once nine blocks crossed by four roads and surrounded by another four, have become one big superblock void of vehicles inside, surrounded by the same four roads on the outside. Without impeding mobility, superblocks equate to better livelihoods, more health and, in passing, less noise.
II. Boosting Urban Greening and Rewilding
Rewilding is a way to restore ecosystems by aiming at increasing biodiversity and reestablishing natural processes. It diverges from other forms of ecological restoration, however, in that rewilding is focused on reducing human influence on ecosystems. It’s a step back to allow the living world to regenerate itself through its intrinsic processes and rhythms.
In turn, rewilding goes hand in hand with the practice of “depaving”, also known as “desealing”. This practice consists of replacing asphalt and concrete with spaces for native plants and autochthonous vegetation.
Taking the lead in these regards one finds Depave in Portland, Oregon, Green Venture in Ontario, Canada, and Life Pact Climate Adaptation Project in Leuven, Belgium. Together have ‘depaved’ over 40,000 sq m of ‘hard landscape’, turning it into green space for rest and recreation. An inspiring BBC news report sums up the benefits behind their achievements:
“Proponents say depaving allows water to soak into the ground, which reduces flooding in times of heavy rain – aiding the ‘sponginess’ of cities. Native plants help wildlife cling on in urban spaces, and by planting trees you can increase shade, protecting residents from heatwaves. Injecting city streets with greenery may even improve people’s mental health, too.”
III. Making Edible Neighborhoods the Norm
A related unstoppable trend has been taking root worldwide to bring back food closer to where it’s eaten. Nurtured by ‘de-globalization’ and ‘re-municipalization’, the edible cities movement has tapped into the benefits of turning vacant lots, parks, sidewalks, roundabouts and front yards into edible gardens and ‘free supermarkets’ for all.
The planting of fruit trees and shrubs in local communities goes beyond strengthening food sovereignty, however. Edible neighbourhoods also reduce active energy inputs to move food around. They also foster community and enable wider access to free, nutritious food to marginalized populations who are more vulnerable to the ills of urban food deserts.
To all this, by tapping into I) and II) above, edible neighbourhoods also have the parallel effect of reducing unnecessary noises and enhancing, instead, the biophonic environment (sounds of birds and grasshoppers and wind whispering through trees). Obvious as it may be, an uber-local diet is also a silent diet adorned by natural sounds.
How Can Businesses and Municipalities Foster Positive Soundscapes?
All in all, the required shift calls for turning swords into plowshares and noisy cities into positive soundscapes. Here is a shortlist of eight additional measures to implement in your neighbourhood or city to create and foster a more pleasing sound environment:
- Start with a positive soundscape awareness campaign for neighbours and municipal staff.
- Implement municipal policies and mechanisms to report noise pollution.
- Use rubber shims to adjust uneven or misplaced sewers that cause noise.
- Follow a byproduct collection schedule that does not disrupt sleep hours.
- Do the same regarding municipal schedules for cleaning drains, sewers, streets, and sidewalks (and ideally opt for brooms and rakes instead of combustion-powered wind blowers).
- Only give patents to businesses that comply with noise-abating designs and regulations conducive to positive soundscapes.
- Boost urban reforestation with native species to increase natural sound barriers and more biophonic environments. (According to Money.com, properties with healthy trees are worth 3.5 to 15 percent more than properties without them.)
- Depave roads, implement road calming measures, and/or re-route traffic to prioritize bikeways, green boulevards, pedestrian streets and/or one-way streets.
You may be noticing how actions seven and eight will also contribute to reducing the increasingly high temperatures of your asphalt and concrete-heavy city. And to reduce flooding. And to improve the landscape. And you are right. Positive soundscapes are indeed ‘cool’ in more ways than one.
For more free resources, check out Hush City, Quiet Business Initiative, and Noise Pollution Clearinghouse.
