The Sonic Commons

Abstract

The Sonic Commons is an examination of the formation of the contemporary urban soundscape, or the Sonic Commons and the social, economic and technological pressures that are transforming our shared aural spaces. The paper will focus upon the historical development of forms of public address in urban space and will follow the tendencies that are currently privatising our aural experience. The paper concludes with a discussion of location sensitive, mobile audio technology, which offers the potential to facilitate communal aural realms.