Sunday 6 December 2009

Quiet Times

Having recently listened to the excellent Trevor Cox Save our Sounds documentaries I have been thinking about how we are losing our quiet times. Trevor discusses the fact that cities are not really getting noisier, but rather that quiet space is becoming harder to find within them as more space is used commercially or for habitation. But how do our changing lives effect quiet times too?

With life in Britain becoming faster, working hours long and varied, and in turn social life too, there are less times to find quiet. Now by quiet I don't mean silent, but rather peaceful, different from the bustle and pace of noisier times.

Here in Central Manchester for example, early Sunday mornings is one of those times, where until about 9.30am it is relatively peaceful. Soon after though it is just as busy as any other day, as the shops open sending their competing Muzak into the streets and crowds of people bring footsteps and chatter.

And yet to many people Sunday is still a day to rest and relax, the majority of office workers are not working, but with people living right in the city centre and the shops open almost a full day, it sounds the same as any other. Until the Sunday Trading Act was passed in 1994 though, the majority of shops did not open at all on a Sunday, giving the day a quieter soundscape, distinct from the other days of the week.

Another law that has had an effect on quiet times is the Licensing Act 2003, which since coming in to play in 2005 has seen a small but steady rise in pubs opening later, particularly at weekends.

By closing their doors at one or two, pubs ensure that the streets are busy and filled with sound well into the next morning, rather than peaking after last orders at eleven and then quietening down after twelve once the majority of people are in a club or back home.

In my opinion it is a good idea, but it is a prime example of what Trevor discusses. The actual level of noise and disturbance at any one time is probably less than it used to be at its peak, but the constant stream of people moving around town throughout the night means that there is actually less quiet time to be found.

It is important to progress, and both of these acts were necessary given the changing working habits in Britain, but I do find it interesting how they can have such an affect on our soundscapes and much more thought needs to be put into ensuring that we do not lose quiet time and space from the public arena all together.

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