Site and sound

A decade ago, Ken Livingstone, then Mayor of London, put forward an unusual proposition: a dedicated strategy to incorporate urban sound in City Hall's planning decisions. The report, Sounder City, had a remit to address sound in London, ranging from aircraft noise to raucous neighbours to idiosyncratic neighbourhood "soundmarks". It was the first strategy of its kind and remains unique - a time capsule of how London's acoustic (that most marginal of urban aesthetics) was then, momentarily, duly considered.