Published: 2019-12-31

The dying of Czerniakowskie Lake, the dying of quiet. From a hi-fi to a lo-fi soundscape

Iwona Kabzińska
Etnografia Polska
Section: Articles
DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/EP63.2019.007

Abstract

Raymond Murray Schafer, a pioneer in research on the soundscape, distinguished between hi-fi and lo-fi soundscapes. The hi-fi soundscape is characterized by natural sounds, recognizable as acoustic signals. Such a soundscape has room for quiet. The lo-fi soundscape is dominated by artificial, mechanical, aggressive, irritating sounds, or noise. The emergence of this type of soundscape has been facilitated by the development of industry, by urbanization, by the realization of succeeding investments in transportation, trade, and entertainment, and by the universality of various kinds of “loud” equipment in households and the public sphere.

As an example of passage from a hi-fi to a lo-fi soundscape, the author explains the causes for the degradation of the Czerniakowskie Lake nature reserve. The causes include, above all, the construction of succeeding housing settlements near the body of water, the nearness of busy communications arteries, and the pressure to increase the reserve’s use for entertainment and recreation. These activities not only have a disadvantageous impact on the natural environment, but they also contribute to the production of noise, which drives out the quiet.

The author notes the varying attitudes to changes to the reserve and various visions and expectations for its future. Whether the reserve will be changed entirely into a lo-fi soundscape will depend on the aims and plans that are implemented. Will the traits of a hi-fi soundscape become a phenomenon entirely of the past, of memories and reflections on the changes undergone by a place with which our fates are connected?

Keywords:

hi-fi and lo-fi landscapes, Czerniakowskie lake, Nature Reserve, threats, Warsaw

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Kabzińska, I. (2019). The dying of Czerniakowskie Lake, the dying of quiet. From a hi-fi to a lo-fi soundscape. Etnografia Polska, 63, 113–132. https://doi.org/10.23858/EP63.2019.007

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