Signifcance
The idea of our project came from square dancing. It is common in residential areas, and more common in public housing estates. Middle-aged women usually dance in groups in open areas like the playground in the morning or evening. This phenomenon draws our attention to the community’s public spaces.
We found that different users usually have specific time periods. But sometimes people still argue about the right of using public spaces. We want to reflect the problem that the residents are facing and drive more people to pay attention to the related topic.
In our project, we plan to investigate the acoustical environment of the public housing estates in Hong Kong and particularly the square dancing activities. With the Zoom Z12-H5 Handy Recorder, we record a range of soundscapes that speak of the liveliness of these shared areas. These acoustic files comprise common sounds like basketball games, children at play and, interestingly, the dance beats of square dancing. In reaper, we use different effect to enhance the authenticity of ambient sounds such as
Square dancing, a common pastime among middle-aged women who consider it to enhance their health. It was practiced in estates playgrounds during morning or evening. Therefore, this phenomena is not only the evidence of sharing the common areas but also evidences the cultural aspect of such gatherings. The dance sessions may be regarded as physical activity, social contact, and a way to depict certain culture and living environment, which are characteristic for existing communities.
The purpose of our project is to determine and describe these soundscapes and reveal the temporality regulating the usage of space. It’s well known that different groups of users conglomerate in these areas during particular time periods but conflict might emerge over the question of who has a right to occupy this space. We see our soundscapes encapsulated into Ambisonics as an opportunity to draw the listeners’ attention to these problems and initiate a conversation about the distribution and organization of communal territory.
In emphasizing the auditory aspect of those collectivities, we thus try to open the discussion concerning the appropriate utilization of available public spaces and to draw attention to the basic perspectives and freedoms of all inhabitants. Besides showcasing the depth and variety of the music coming out of Hong Kong’s housing estates, our project aims at contributing to a more tolerant interaction with some of the most dynamic urban spaces.
Update version report
Our concept has drawn from square dancing which is popular in many residential areas including the public housing structures. Besides, middle aged women engage in dancing, in group form in open places such as the playground, at morning or evening. This leads to focus on the public places in the community.
Our work shows that users in general have a time schedule that does not prevent them from disputing over the right of place. Our goal is to bring attention to this problem and ensure more people remain aware of it.
Our project explores the noise climate of a commercial and residential hub, Hong Kong, specifically on the premise of housing estates and the activity, square dancing. Through the Zoom Z12-H5 Handy Recorder, we record sounds which are characteristics of such areas, such as baskets playing, children playing or even dance beats when practicing square dancing. Relying on effects, we make these background noises as realistic in Reaper as possible.
Middle-aged women enjoy square dancing and it has healthy connotations for people of this age; it is practiced in the estate playgrounds. It does more than demonstrate the communal use of space; it also captures the modes of such assembly, in terms of physical exercise, social interaction, and culture.
The goal of our project is to explain these soundscapes and uncover the rhythmicity governing the spatial organization. Disputes may be caused by issues of how these people have the right to occupy such places. These issues are what we employ Ambisonics to address and to open discussions about the sharing of communal territories.
In appealing to the auditory component of these assemblies, we wish to address how crowded places should be utilized, and what latitude all dwellers possess. It is our project on the music from Hong Kong’s housing estates in portraying the vastness and diversities in the music genre as well as encouraging more tolerant engagements in diverse and contemporary settings.