Sounds of the City: Linking Nature’s Fading Notes, Rising Urban Noise, & Connection to Nature

Urban soundscapes are shifting as human-made noise increasingly drowns out natural sounds like birdsong. This transformation has wide-reaching implications, not only for biodiversity, but also for how people connect with nature, experience well-being, and engage with the environment.

Price’s research explores the impacts of urban noise on human perception, psychological well-being, and environmental relationality. Using experimental soundscapes, surveys, and literature review, Price investigates how changes in everyday sound shape people’s experience of urban nature and may contribute to declining kinship with nature (or, foster it!).

This work reveals inequities in exposure to restorative soundscapes and connects noise pollution to stress, cognitive strain, and environmental injustice. Price proposes strategies to restore acoustic biodiversity through urban design (from lower speed limits to sound-conscious green spaces) as a pathway to healthier, more equitable, and ecologically vibrant cities.