Events

CHAIRPERSON

Prof Ho Kong Chong, Asia Research Institute, and Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

Noise remains a key public health issue related to the quality of life for residents in diverse urban areas. In fast-changing Asian cities, noise has consistently remained an issue of concern and a threat expressed by residents across the region. However, despite the clear identification of noise as a quality of life and livability issue, little work has attempted to link concerns identified around fast-changing city soundscapes — such as road, rail or air traffic; construction; and density-related sound or vibration effects — to urban policy and planning futures. Our interdisciplinary work seeks to remedy this gap, by drawing-upon our research in Singapore on neighbourhood-centred perceptions of and about noise, urban livability and quality of life.

In this presentation I will identify several policy implications from our multi-year study conducted in North West Singapore. I will attempt to outline the theoretical and policy implications of our ethnographic and survey research with a focus on three particular policy areas: urban planning/engineering; design for livability; and informatics policies. Our research has sonic ramifications for better understanding not only variations in public perceptions about or in soundscapes — but also, the complex ‘politics of noise’ at various scales inside cities. Our work also highlights the need for better integrated land-use, livability and civic engagement policies that address fast-changing urban soundscapes in high-density environments.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

David Sadoway is trained as an urban planner and resource and environmental manager. He worked in Asia for 15 years before joining Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Department of Geography and the Environment. He instructs human geography, qualitative research and urban geography. His research involves urban noise pollution; smart citizenship; and contested urban futures. David has served as a research fellow at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore); and a post-doc at Concordia University (Montréal), where he studied the politics of urban infrastructure in India. Dr Sadoway has worked in the UN, government, non-profit sector; and with planning consultants in Toronto and Vancouver.

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