About this Event
What can we learn about a neighborhood by listening to it? And how can listening help us imagine better urban environments?
Join Stadtmusik (Sam Auinger and Dietmar Offenhuber) for an intensive, three-day workshop exploring the sounds, rhythms, atmospheres, and acoustic identities of Boston’s Chinatown, with particular attention to the area affected by the proposed I-90 reconnection project.
In collaboration with the Goethe-Institut and Pao Arts Center, we will explore Chinatown through guided soundwalks, listening exercises, and discussions. Participants will discover how buildings and streets shape what we hear: how architecture creates acoustic shadows, reflects and redirects sound, and produces quieter pockets or noisy spaces.
What we hear—and what we don’t hear—affects how we experience a place, how comfortable we feel, how we interact with others, and whether we want to spend time there.
Urban planning is usually discussed through maps, drawings, and visual representations. Thinking with our ears offers another way to understand the city. By paying attention to the auditory qualities of Chinatown, we will explore how listening can give residents, community advocates, designers, and planners new tools to evaluate proposed changes and advocate for more livable urban environments.
The workshop takes place November 18–20 and includes soundwalks, collective listening exercises, and discussions, concluding with a public panel.
No specialized knowledge or experience is required—just curiosity and a willingness to listen.
Wednesday, Nov. 18. 2026
1:30pm-2:30pm
Public sound walk / site study
5:30pm-7:30pm
Public sound walk / site study
Thursday, Nov. 19. 2026
1:30pm-2:30pm
Public sound walk / site study
7:00pm-8:30pm
Public Panel at the Goethe-Institut Boston
Friday, Nov. 20. 2026
Tbd
Discussion at the Pao Arts Center
Visit Sound Walks & Panel Discussion: Sounding Chinatown :: Thinking with your ears - Goethe-Institut for details.
Event venue & nearby stays
Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street, Boston, United States
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