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

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Geography

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Pierce, Colt

Contributors dc:contributor

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

• Gentrification
• Nighttime Economy

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Colt Pierce

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

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

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F129868