Re]Mixing Space: Charting Sonic Accessibility and Social Equity in Creative Urban Contexts

Abstract

Sonic inclusion – the ways in which sound includes people in space – has received little attention in the design of the built environment. It is proposed that the design and management of contemporary urban space is grounded in an “auraltypical” perspective where the primary focus is those with “otologically normal” hearing. This position is driven by an idealized model of hearing that frames design through the binary positioning of “good/bad” ears and leads to spaces that are socially exclusive. In contrast, the emerging paradigm of “auraldiversity” acknowledges the diversity of human hearing and the multitude of elements that place the hearing modality within a state of constant flux. This article presents a case study of Remixing the Globe, a participatory sound mapping workshop and exhibition held at Shakespeare’s Globe, London in 2017. The workshop brought together a cohort of disabled adults, each with self-identified lived experience of sonic exclusion. The group utilized digital technologies, such as binaural microphones, pressure sensors and smartphone-activated sound stickers, to map sonic objects, environments and experiences throughout the building. Specific focus was given to mapping the elements of the environment that were understood as pertinent to the inclusion or exclusion of d/Deaf and disabled people. Findings emphasize the important role that sonic cartography can play in examining accessibility in urban space. The article calls for a new politics of sound mapping in which d/Deaf and disability embodiment is foregrounded and through which a critical examination of sound and social inclusion in urban spaces can begin to emerge.