What is City Sound Blocks?

City Sound Blocks is a project that grew out of a Graduate seminar in Ecomusicology. There are a few other blogs dedicated to soundwalking and soundscape material, such as Soundwalking Interactions. This blog was partly inspired by the Soundwalking Interactions research group that explores soundwalks and interactive installations to engage people and raise issues about various locations and their histories. 

Instead of Soundwalking Interactions' approch of including the history of the neighborhood, creating compositions out of the soundscape or creating installations based on the soundscape, I would like to take a smaller, descriptive and focused approach to what I hear in my neighborhood.

I will draw from urban soundscape and acoustic ecology literature to describe the sights and sounds that I encounter in my apartment and on soundwalks around my neighborhood. The project is ongoing and will address issues of urban soundscapes, loud and unpredictable sonic environments (ambulance sirens), and explorations of human versus natural sounds. 

This is not the first time I have lived by a hospital, but it is the first time that I must encounter the hospital (from the outside) on a daily basis. The tall building in the sky is a visible reminder of emergency, help, and extra human activity. With an interest in the urban soundscape, I am recording and documenting the sights and sounds of my neighborhood, as it connects (or even disconnects) with the hospital. 

This project is not intended to discuss the uniqueness or mundaneness of my neighborhood. I simply want to explore a soundscape that I find both annoying and fascinating. I am constantly surprised at the amount of nature versus human noise present. With both natural and unnatural sounds and structures existing, I want to see where these conflict and resolve in everyday life.