Soundwalk Around UCSD Medical Center #1

I wanted to do a soundwalk from my neighborhood to the UCSD Medical Center, so on a Saturday (5/31/14) I recorded my walk to the hospital, around the hospital, and back to where I started. This was my first soundwalk and I was surprised at how the soundscape was moderately quiet. I knew there would be less traffic on a Saturday, but I thought there would be more ambulance sirens and human activity around the building. However, I found myself listening more to trees rustling and birds chirping when I was by the canyon behind the hospital. Once I made it around the hospital though into the neighboring streets, there were more cars passing by, people talking, and construction going on.

In this recording I was walking towards the hospital and there were more traffic sounds. There is a bus transit stop next to the hospital, which contributes to the traffic. (Sorry for the squeaking from my shoes. I won't wear those flip flops for soundwalks anymore!)


Here, I am starting from the UCSD shuttle pick up point on the side of the hospital then circling behind the hospital.

In front of me

Behind me

Pictures of the canyon:

After circling the hospital, I walked on the neighboring streets and lingered by a small construction site toward the end of the recording. 

The construction site:

 No one was in the front of the site:

My first Soundwalk experience:

I was nervous at first going on a soundwalk because I did not know what to expect. Instead of walking in the neighborhood to reach a destination, I was walking with a different purpose. My hearing was more acute and I was focused on sounds that I usually qualify as ambient and usual. I was also nervous because I was holding my black recorder in my hand and had on headphones so I could listen to what the recorder was hearing. I thought that passersby would look at me weirdly and question why I had a recorder in my hand. I was very paranoid that someone would think I was from the NSA. However, no one really cared.

At one point in the previous recordings a neighbor said hello to me and people running or walking passed me were in their own zones. When I was closer to the hospital I was more nervous since there are security cameras and officers on duty. There was one officer who looked at me briefly when I was recording the hum of a generator, but he eventually got into his car and drove off. Other than that, I walked around the hospital with no problems.

I recommend anyone who is interested in recording and documenting a soundwalk to try it. My attention to detail and awareness of my surroundings increased. I looked at the landscape of people's yards, what trees were moving in the wind, the direction of car sounds, and how each sound contributed to the overall soundscape.