Tuning in to Public Space
La Fanfare des confinés band was chosen as one of the curated artists selected to perform in the streets of the Plateau Mont-Royal district of Montréal this summer. (September, 2020) PHOTO FX TREMBLAY
SOUND
Sound plays a critical and complex role in the way we experience urban spaces and places. Traditionally, cities have often treated urban sound as “noise,” an isolated nuisance that should be mitigated using noise control strategies and regulations. Attempts are frequently made to manage unwanted sounds by creating special windows, noise barriers, and hi-tech materials to drown them out. This approach can solve some issues, but it oversimplifies the complexity of the sound environment and diminishes opportunities to use sound as a powerful resource. For example, music, conversation, birds chirping, and water sounds can contribute positively to the quality of the urban experience when used in appropriate contexts and environments.
Sound affects our wellbeing, mood, health, sense of joy (or lack there of), orientation, perception, focus, and experiences. It also contributes to our lasting memories of urban spaces and places, and we don't all hear and process sound in the same way (e.g. think of people with ADHD, hearing impairment, the elderly, etc.). Let's also not forget that "we the people" are not the only living creatures in town, and animals and their habitats are greatly impacted by sound. In fact, many animals, such as whales and dolphins, are very dependent on sound as a means to navigate and communicate. Having collaborated with the Sounds in the City living lab at McGill University over the past several years, I wanted to share some of my own thoughts and observations about sound and our urban environments at this moment in time.
Musicians playing on Avenue Mont-Royal, Montréal (September, 2020) PHOTO CHRISTINE KERRIGAN
SOUND + URBAN DESIGN
Montréal is often viewed as a "creative and musical city." As a Montréaler who moved to this city from Boston 6 years ago, I agree wholeheartedly with this designation. However, what happens when you have a pandemic and thousands of musicians, dancers, acrobats, and artists can no longer perform in official festivals and performance venues? Well, these creative talents have a way of spilling into the streets, either in organized "pop-up performances," which the city and districts have been working diligently to try and curate, or they just sort of magically appear guerilla-style in public spaces. The video below gives us a sense of of what happens when the streets become the stage.
It's become even clearer that music and sound are crucial tools to connecting people across cultures, ages, and origin. Music and sound can also have an amazing way of lifting peoples' spirits, especially through personal tragedies and difficult times like this COVID-19 pandemic. The touching images and video of people singing from balconies and rooftops during the height of the pandemic is but one example of many.
“Walk Walk Dance” project by Daily Tous les Jours, Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal (July, 2020)
PHOTO VICTORINE YOK-THOT SENTILHES
The Montréal design team at Daily Tous les Jours https://www.dailytouslesjours.com have long understood the power of music and sound to enhance the user experience in public space. Since their start in 2010, the art and design studio, led by Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos, has been creating urban design projects and installations, which capitalize on the power of sound to help people unite, connect, navigate, discover, learn, and play. The studio is often remembered nationally and internationally for their "Musical Swings" project, an urban interactive installation that invites people to swing and make music together. However, they have dozens of other projects, which are equally as intriguing and engaging, and a good many of these projects use sound as a key design component.
During this summer, Daily Tous les Jours created an interactive piece called, "Walk Walk Dance," which was installed in the new pedestrian zone on Avenue Mont-Royal in Montréal. In their own words, "Walk Walk Dance" is "a series of interactive music-making lines, changing the way we walk (or wait in line) into a street party." I caught up with Melissa to get her take on the potential of sound and music to transform experiences and spaces. "We often use music in our work, there is an innate, universal quality to it that reaches people beyond words. It moves body and mind. When done well, passers-by can become musicians and dancers," Melissa explained.
“Walk Walk Dance” project by Daily Tous les Jours, Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal (July, 2020)
PHOTO VICTORINE YOK-THOT SENTILHES
Some organisations and cities also understand the opportunity to use sound and music as an urban acupuncture tool, and the “Cabaret ambulant" is a perfect example. It's essentially like an ice cream truck, but it's filled with music instead of popsicles that turn your lips blue. This musical stage on wheels, managed by the Quartier des Spectacles, has been used to draw citizens and visitors back to specific neighbourhoods, especially those where local retail and businesses have been hard hit during the pandemic due to a lack of tourists and visitors. I serendipitously crossed paths with the truck back in August and was serenaded by a Quebecois band Lost Fingers' rendition of "I like to Move it Move it." Not only did this leave me grinning ear to ear, but I could also see the strategy behind this concert in motion – give musicians a venue to perform, respect social distancing, breath life back into targeted neighbourhoods, and hope that people (and their wallets) will come back to these streets and revive the local economy.
Damien Robitaille performs on St. Denis, Montréal (July, 2020) PHOTO EVA BLUE
Clay and Friends perform at the place d'Youville, Montréal (August, 2020) PHOTO EVA BLUE
Random Recipe perform in Old Port, Montréal (September, 2020) PHOTO EVA BLUE
I spoke with Marie-Hélène Marchand, the Project Manager responsible for planning the strategy and content for this innovative concert on wheels. She explained that the truck circulated between 3PM-6PM in specific pedestrian streets in downtown Montréal. Furthermore, there were two different types of performances – a fifteen minute performance where the truck stayed in one location or a fifteen minutes performance where the truck slowly moved through the streets. The performances were organized in a pop-up style fashion in order to avoid drawing crowds, especially since some of the bands are quite well known to locals. The beauty of this project is that the potential disturbance to local residents was minimized by the fact that the stage was on wheels and the truck didn't stay in the same location for more than 15 minutes. The Quartier des Spectacles has not yet had the opportunity to gather specific feedback and data on the economic impact of the project and the user experience (i.e. for spectators, musicians, local retailers, etc.). However, it's something they are investigating in the months to come. Overall, the reaction from the general public appears to have been positive and I personally thought it was a rather brilliant initiative.
SOUND + MAPPING
During the COVID-19 lockdown, many of our city centres transformed overnight from sound environments dominated by an auditory buffet of the beeps and honks of trucks, roar of buses, and revving of car engines to a much calmer and quieter soundscape – one often filled more with the audible sounds of birds, and the chatter of human voices, foot steps, and music. Of course, the soundscape of every neighbourhood and city is different, but what most have had in common during lockdown has been the removal or significant reduction of vehicle traffic and noise.
Click the map above or link to visit the London Street Noises project https://www.londonstreetnoises.co.uk
Many soundscape researchers have been studying this shift in the soundscape during the pandemic. A team from London led by John Levack Drever, Professor of Acoustic Ecology at Goldsmiths, University of London, created the London Street Noises Project. The team presents a comparison of sound recordings at specific locations in London in 1928, 2018 and 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic). Not only was it incredibly entertaining to listen to the running commentary of "Commander Daniel" from the 1928 recordings (He had me at "That horn was quite unnecessary."), but it was amazing to feel the difference of listening to the 2018 recordings vs. the 2020 ones. Give these a listen and you may just realize how sound could be affecting you in your environment more than you may think or even realize.
I spoke with Mattia Cobianchi, an acoustic engineer, member of the London Street Noise Project team, and PhD student at Goldsmiths University of London. According to Mattia, “Urban sound environments have become quieter for most of us during lockdowns, but it’s important to stress that quieter does not necessarily imply 'better.' While there are some direct links between exposure to high noise levels and negative health effects, there is also documented evidence of faster stress recovery and better self-reported health conditions related to the exposure to positive soundscapes. A positive soundscape is not one 'without noise or sounds,' but instead one where multiple sounds (and other factors like visual and olfactory cues) combine to provide a positive experience."
SOUND + TECH
Creating sound maps as a way to gather data is also not new. For years, sensors have been deployed in many cities in order to transform sound information into useful data. In fact, for nearly two decades, EU member states have been required to produce strategic noise maps in cities, as well as for major roads, railways and airports. Furthermore, sound technologies and visualizations are becoming much more sophisticated over time. For example, the start-up Securaxis https://securaxis.com in Geneva, Switzerland, combines acoustic detection and machine learning to allow for real-time localization, classification, reporting, and analysis of specific sounds in any environment. The system can, among other things, monitor traffic by counting the number and type of vehicles (e.g. truck, car, motorcycle, EV), and also detect accidents and vehicle direction of travel. I was particularly intrigued when I learned that the system can also monitor wildlife by detecting specific species. In fact, using sound data as a tool to attempt to preserve and monitor wildlife and biodiversity is also an area of academic research.
Vehicles are surely not the only noisemakers in urban environments and cities like Montréal are also investigating how to better manage the sound generated from events and festivals. For example, Montréal's Quartier des Spectacles, located in the heart of where many festivals take place throughout the year, has deployed several sensors in order to better monitor and track event and festival sound. The organisation is partnering with my colleagues at the Sounds in the City lab and professors and students at ÉTS in order to collect quantitative sound data as well as qualitative data from local residents and visitors. This initiative is particularly timely since many new residential condo buildings are being added to the neighbourhood. Deploying sensors to gather sound data in public spaces is becoming more and more common in several cities around the world. Of course, the real challenge is finding constructive ways to use the information to create and build healthier environments in the present and future.
SOUND + USER-EXPERIENCE
For many years, researchers have been studying how sound is perceived and experienced in urban environments. In fact, an area of study exists called soundscape* (a cousin to acoustic ecology) and it's a user-centered proactive approach for reframing sound as a resource as opposed to just as a liability. The soundscape approach encourages positive sounds in urban environments while mitigating unwanted sounds and necessitates planning the sound environment well in advance rather than waiting for noise problems to occur.
Tracking specific sound sources and sound pressure levels can be extremely useful for managing noise and disturbances, among other things, but it's only part of the sound story. Knowing how people and other living creatures perceive these sounds is also crucial. Hearing your neighbour's dog Baguette barking for 15 minutes straight at 6AM may tempt you to curse this canine's existence. However, if Baguette is your dog, you may have a different toleration and perception of the barking. Our interpretation of sounds is subject to many factors, such as the environment we're in, the activities we're doing, our relationship to the sound maker, and our sensitivity to sound, just to name a few. By conducting interviews, surveys and soundwalks, we can gather important information on how people are interpreting their sound environments and public spaces.
Soundwalk led by Dr. Daniel Steele, a soundscape researcher at McGill University, during a full-day workshop that we organized with the Sounds in the City team, McGill University. (May, 2018) PHOTO CYNTHIA TARLAO
THE FUTURE
As we look forward to the future of mobility and more and more electric vehicles roam the streets, it remains to be seen what traffic will actually sound like in the years to come. In fact, designing the car experience of the future is something that car companies are very actively exploring, researching, and testing at this very moment in time. The pandemic lockdown provides us with some interesting data about how a city or neighbourhood soundscape may sound when buses, trucks, motorcycles, and car engines are significantly reduced or even removed from urban environments. We've also learned to appreciate the power of things like music and nature sounds to enhance our urban environments and help us through these challenging times.
No one knows when a vaccine for COVID-19 will be developed or how long this pandemic will last. In the meantime, we can grow to appreciate the crucial role that sound and music play in the urban realm and take the opportunity to consider what we want our vehicles, neighbourhoods and cities to sound like in the future.
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* Official soundscape definition:
Soundscape has been defined by an International Organisation for Standards (ISO) working group of researchers and professionals as “the acoustic environment as perceived and experienced by people or society, in context.”