Next City Sounds

Today over half of the world’s population lives in cities, and each of these cities has its own distinctive sound profile. Sounds significantly shape life in the cities, and allow us to draw conclusions about the identities and preferences of their inhabitants. As a permanent feature of communal life, sounds can be either essential to well-being or, as noise, a stressful, disturbing factor. Sound in the urban environment also has the potential to touch people, to fascinate, and it can also enhance the appreciation of districts and particular locations.

Development of an App

The project »Next City Sounds« has been organized by the ZKM | Institute for Music and Acoustics as part of the Science Year 2015, which is dedicated to the city of the future. Its investigation of the sound dimensions of the urban area of Karlsruhe will lead to proposals for future urban planning decisions.

Microphones set up in public places can be accessed via live-stream. Are you curious and do you want to test it? Then please check out the new project on its website! These live-streams will also serve as artistic material for telematic concerts and sound installations at the ZKM. Further, an app will be developed which Karlsruhe’s inhabitants can use to assess and comment on the sound properties of their environment, as well as design their own scenarios for the future. The results of the »Next City Sounds« project will be presented at the GLOBALE, at a symposium and in concerts.