London noise pollution event: The Hidden Soundtrack
On 12th May, Car Free Cities London teamed up with creative collective Glimpse for a silent concert: ‘The Hidden Soundtrack: Unmuffling the city to celebrate London’s unique soundtrack’. They created a cinema-style roadside ‘auditorium’ in Boxpark, Shoreditch, to give London back its voice, showcasing a host of incredible local talent that makes the city what it is.
Check out the video from the day…
London is considered one of the cultural capitals of the world - known for its world class museums, bustling markets, music and cultural history. But the unique sounds of London are being muffled by the constant stream of road traffic.
We wanted to give London back its voice, showcasing a host of incredible local talent that makes the city what it is.
We understand the huge benefits of Car Free Megacities when it comes to congestion, air pollution, and road traffic incidents - but the impact of noise pollution on people’s health and happiness does not get as much ‘air’ time.
For one day only, we presented ‘London: The Hidden Soundtrack’. In collaboration with creative collective Glimpse, we built a mini, cinema-style auditorium near a busy road in Shoreditch. We invited passers-by to take a seat in our cinema-style roadside ‘auditorium’. Once seated headphones will be supplied, and members of the public heard performances by local artists.
As well as showcasing the best of London’s talent, we were able to educate people on the impacts of noise pollution, and show them all the wonderful noises we could be hearing instead, as a way of encouraging support for car-free cities.
‘London: The Hidden Soundtrack’ helped bring the public into an exciting, and positive conversation around Car Free Megacities, reinforcing their love for the city, and helping them to re-imagine the vibrancy that is being muffled by car horns.
It was great that elected representatives Councillor Mete Coban MBE (Stoke Newington, Hackney) and Zack Polanski (London Assembly member and chair of the Environment Committee) were able to stop by and show their support for the campaign. Here’s what they said on twitter: