Plan a listening soundwalk in a city park

What a park soundwalk is and what your plan should do

A soundwalk is a walk where listening is the main activity. In her writing on soundwalking as a way of creating moving environmental sound narratives, the sound researcher Andra McCartney describes it as listening while moving through a place. Recording is optional, and the walk can be done alone or with others. The 'narrative' comes from movement. As you walk, the sounds around you shift, and the way you notice those shifts becomes the story of the walk.

In a city park, your plan has to settle four things: who is listening and in what format, which stops and transitions the route includes, how people will record what they hear, and how you will compare impressions afterward. This guide covers personal listening and reflection. It is not acoustic measurement, and nobody's hearing is being tested or ranked.

Limits and needs that shape the walk

Some constraints change the plan more than others. Settle these before you choose a route.

• Time available: this sets how many stops you can include and whether you can add a discussion at the end. With limited time, use fewer stops and keep the reflection.
• Time of day and day of week: the same park can sound very different at different times. Choose your timing for the sounds you want to hear. If possible, check the timing by visiting briefly beforehand.
• Season and weather: wind, rain and seasonal activity change both what you can hear and how comfortable it is to stand still. Check the forecast and any seasonal closures with the park operator.
• Mobility and access: McCartney identifies access and transport as consequential choices when picking a location. Ask participants about their mobility and communication needs before you choose stops. Then pick paths, surfaces, seating and rest points that suit them.
• Companions: a solo walk needs no coordination. A group needs agreed quiet intervals, a meeting point and a facilitator contact.
• What to carry: keep it light. A notebook or printed sheet and a pen are enough. Bring recording equipment only if recording is a deliberate part of the activity.

Choose a listening format

McCartney discusses two group formats. In one, a group listens quietly and reflects together afterward. In the other, listening alternates with conversation during the walk. Combined with walking alone, these give three practical options.

Format	How it works	Fits best when	Tradeoffs
Solo with private notes	You walk and listen alone, writing or sketching as you go	You want flexible timing and uninterrupted attention	No one to compare impressions with unless you share notes later
Paired, with discussion afterward	Two people listen in silence, then compare notes at the end	You want a second perspective without group logistics	You must agree on pace and stops; one person's habits can set the rhythm
Facilitated group	A facilitator leads the route, with agreed quiet intervals and set discussion stops	You are hosting a neighborhood outing or a class	Needs advance coordination and an access check for everyone; group size may trigger park rules you must check

If you are unsure, start with the paired format. It gives you a real comparison of impressions with very little to arrange. For a group, choose between full quiet with discussion at the end and alternating listening with conversation. Make that choice before the walk and tell participants at the start.

Planning sequence

• 1. Choose the format: solo, paired or facilitated group. This decides how much of the rest you need to arrange.
• 2. If others are coming, ask about access and communication needs before you choose stops. Their answers limit which paths and stopping places work.
• 3. Check the park operator's current access conditions, including opening times, closed areas and any rules for organized groups. Write down what you found and when you checked it.
• 4. Choose the stops and the transitions between them. If possible, walk the route briefly beforehand at a similar time of day.
• 5. Decide whether audio recording is part of the walk. If it is, confirm the park's recording conditions and get every participant's agreement before you include it.
• 6. Set the meeting point, the finish point and how people get there and back.
• 7. Prepare the observation sheet and the listening prompts.
• 8. For a group, name a facilitator contact and share the plan, the quiet intervals and the discussion stops in advance.
• 9. On the day, start with a short reminder that this is personal listening and reflection, with no right answers.

Pick stops and pay attention to transitions

Map features are tempting stops, such as a fountain, a playground, a road edge or a wooded patch. But the walk between stops matters as much as the stops. In McCartney's documented walk with Hildegard Westerkamp in Queen Elizabeth Park, sounds changed gradually from place to place rather than switching at clear boundaries on the map. So build your route to include transitions you can notice. Good transitions include leaving a busy edge for a quieter interior, approaching water, or passing from open lawn into trees.

Three stops is a manageable starting point, with time to listen at each and attention kept on during the walk between them. Choose stops where participants can stand or sit comfortably and safely without blocking a path.

A simple listening score (illustrative example)

Here is a hypothetical score you can adapt. At each of three stops, ask participants to notice three things:

• A recurring sound: something that comes back or continues, such as traffic hum, birdsong or footsteps.
• A brief sound: something that appears once and is gone.
• A changing sound: something that grows, fades or shifts as you approach the next stop.

An observation sheet for comparing impressions

Use words or simple sketches by default. A shared set of columns makes notes easy to compare later. Keep what was heard separate from guesses about what made the sound. For example, write 'low steady rumble from the left' first, and add 'probably the road' only as a guess.

Stop or transition	Time	Sound description	Apparent direction	Continuous or intermittent	Personal association	Question for discussion
Stop 1
Walk to stop 2
Stop 2
Walk to stop 3
Stop 3

Compare impressions afterward

McCartney's examples show that people respond differently to the same walk, and the discussion should allow for that. Go through the sheet stop by stop. Ask what each person noticed, where they placed it, and what it reminded them of. Treat differences as the interesting part, not as errors. Do not rank anyone's hearing, and do not treat impressions as measurements. The 'question for discussion' column gives quieter participants an easy way to join in. People who want to explore further, for example by treating soundwalks as a way of experiencing urban art, can extend the reflection into writing, drawing or a shared map of the route.

Details to confirm before you rely on the plan

Rules for any specific park are not confirmed here. Check each item below with the park operator or another official source shortly before the walk.

• Opening hours and closures: whether the park and the paths you plan to use are open at your chosen time, and whether any areas are closed for maintenance, events or the season.
• Group rules: whether a facilitated group of your size needs a permit, a booking or notice to the operator.
• Recording conditions: whether audio recording is allowed and under what conditions. Separately, confirm that every participant agrees to be recorded.
• Accessible routes: path surfaces, slopes, step-free access, seating and accessible restrooms along your route.
• Transport and meeting points: how participants reach the start and leave from the finish, and whether the meeting point is easy to find and reach.
• Events and works: scheduled events or construction that could change the soundscape or block your route. These may not stop the walk, but they will change what you hear.

Adjust the plan when conditions change

• A stop or path is closed: replace the stop rather than dropping the transition, so the route still moves from one sound environment into another. Recheck access for the new segment.
• The weather turns: shorten the quiet intervals, use stops with shelter if the park has them, or postpone. Wind and rain change what can be heard, so record the conditions on the sheet if you go ahead.
• An unexpected event or works are underway: either reroute, or make the change itself the subject and listen to how it reshapes the park.
• A participant's needs change: revisit the stops and the pace first, then the format. A group may work better switching to listening alternated with conversation, or splitting into pairs.
• Recording permission is unclear or someone declines: drop recording and use the written sheet. The walk does not depend on recording.