Hearing Like A City: Sonic Gentrification and the Nighttime Economy of Urban Soundscapes

Pierce, Colt

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129868 Copy

Description

Title

Hearing Like A City: Sonic Gentrification and the Nighttime Economy of Urban Soundscapes

Author(s)

Pierce, Colt

Issue Date

2025-07-14

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Wilson, David

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Wilson, David

Committee Member(s)

• Cidell, Julie
• Butcher, Sian
• Alvarado, Nikolai

Department of Study

Geography & GIS

Discipline

Geography

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• gentrification
• nighttime economy

Abstract

Austin, Texas, has emerged as an exciting city to study among urbanists Now regarded as a premier technopolis and cultural center in the Sun Belt, the city has undergone rapid change and dramatic gentrification, with many questioning whether its previous cultural character, lauded by Bohemian expatriates, remains intact. Studies of Austin have examined numerous things, particularly its ongoing gentrification, which has proved complicated. This research builds upon this emergent body of gentrification research in Austin to chronicle that a glaring omission marks this work: the driving influence of sound in facilitating this urban restructuring. The literature on gentrification primarily focuses on the visual: ocular-centric takes on demographic changes, housing upgrades, and budding boutiques. While some scholars have examined the politics of sound and gentrification, little attention has been given to understanding how cities control sound as an active ingredient that induces neighborhood change and valorizes land. This research introduces the concepts of sonic gentrification and sonic fix. Focusing on music-oriented development in East Austin, this research reveals how sound and live music are injected into the logic of urban growth to purposefully change the sounds of a neighborhood, promote a middle class takeover, push out Latine and Black residents, and close rent gaps as it creates its nighttime economy. Using archival work, sound walks, and ethnographic methods, this research codifies this process by illuminating the racialization, erasure, and commodification of sounds, demonstrating that city soundscapes are manipulated and embedded within systems of power. In this frame, my work urges geographers to hear the city as a powerful dimension promoting urban change.

Graduation Semester

2025-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129868

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Colt Pierce

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