Cities and Memory: global collaborative sound project

Urban and Wilderness Soundscapes

Stuart Fowkes’ Cities and Memories collaborative project as an archive for the fleeting actuality of modern-day sounds, is a deeply captivating endeavor. In an interview by AFP (2022), Fowkes states that this project has a focus on “obsolete and disappearing sounds” as the world continues to advance at a faster rate than it had previously. Humankind has achieved many technical and non-technical advancements in the past 100 years– a speed which has not been replicated to this extent throughout history. With that speed comes the introduction and quick disappearance of many sounds in our environments. As Fowkes points out, it was not too long ago that the sounds of horses’ hooves, bells, blacksmithing, etc. made up the soundscape of many cities up until the Industrial Revolution, when technological advancement kicked off.

However, Stuart Fowkes’ original emphasis on the sounds of cities and technology leaves a large gap in the auditory history and preservation of the natural world. As new cities pop up and old cities expand, humanity is losing more and more of the natural world that once surrounded us. This is especially clear when considering the habitat loss that has caused the endangerment or extinction of many animal species. While I am more unfamiliar with the rate of urban expansion within the countries in Europe, in America I am constantly seeing new neighborhoods take over previously untamed land– causing the local fauna to lose their habitat.

For a majority of my life, I have grown up on the edge of a national forest, land protected from urbanization by national law. While I am not always aware of the dangers of the wilderness, I enjoy the surrounding soundscape. Bushes rustling as deer, mountain lions, foxes, people, or whatever else is out there walk. The babbling of leaves in the wind. Mountain-capped chickadees and their warning calls. A chipmunk’s paws slapping on the bark of the trees. The faint murmuring of hikers or bikers further on the trail. Bees buzzing by your ears to reach the flowers gently flowing in the wind. And depending on the time of year and amplitude of drought, a gentle stream tinkling further in the foliage. These are all sounds I am so fortunate to bear witness to when I care to listen, but they are also sounds that used to be present further down in the valley that have since vanished with urbanization. Upon further inspection of the Cities and Memories website (n.d.) it can be found that Fowkes’ original emphasis on cityscapes has since shifted to include these more urban sounds.

I have noticed a lack of participating sound recordists in my home state, Utah, in the US. I hope that upon my return, I can remedy this fact and become a contributor myself.

Reference List

Cities & Memory | Field Recordings, Sound Map, Sound Art. (n.d.). Types of sound – listen to the different categories of global sounds. [online] Available at: https://citiesandmemory.com/types-of-sound/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2026].

UK-based sound artist aims to save world’s “disappearing” noises | AFP. (2022). [Video] Directed by AFP News Agency. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaaoGWA-EY0 [Accessed 4 Oct. 2026].