The thesis presents and analyses three approaches to the
subjective approach of the everyday sound environment: The
World Soundscape Project descriptive model, Barry
Truax’s information based Acoustic Communication
model, and the perceptual and phenomenological work of
French researchers Jean-François Augoyard and Pascal
Amphoux. These models are then combined in a methodological
and analytical framework to study listeners’
relationships to contemporary urban environments.
The methodology is applied to a case study—the
soundscape of Commercial Drive in Vancouver BC,
Canada—in order to explore the various models and
provide a practical analysis of the soundscape of
Commercial Drive. The methodology used consists of a series
of interviews that proceed from the general to the
specific, and finally move back to a macro analysis of the
soundscape. First, short surveys and “sonic mind
maps” were conducted with people chosen randomly on
the street. Then, recorded interviews with long-term
inhabitants provided more specific information about
potential locations to study and various themes of inquiry.
Three contrasting locations were selected and recorded, and
these recording were used in “reactivated listening
sessions” with participants who possess a particular
aural knowledge. These subjective accounts and other
quantitative information gathered throughout the are
analysed based on a communicational approach to the
soundscape and with the help of Amphoux’s qualitative
criteria.
The results of the case study suggest the presence of a
strong acoustic community maintained through active outdoor
soundmaking practices, the omnipresence of non-mediated,
vocal interactions and a blurring of traditional
indoor/private and outdoor/public boundaries. The study has
also helped in demonstrating how Amphoux’s
qualitative criteria can be used in the context of an
acoustic communicational inquiry of the sound environment.