Would a Car-Light City Really be 'Quiet'? (Dr. Erica Walker)

Epidemiologists around the world have sounded the alarm about the health risks of rising noise pollution, and called out cars as one of the largest sources of the crisis. In our quest to make cities quieter, though, noise researcher Dr. Erica Walker says we're missing a critical conversation about how unique communities experience their local soundscapes, both in the streets and beyond — and who we harm when we police decibel levels without listening to marginalized people first. In this episode of The Brake, we sit down with Dr. Walker to explore not just why ultra-quiet electric cars won't actually turn down the volume on our neighborhoods much, but who gets to decide what our cities should sound like, how we enforce arbitrary auditory standards, and why a peaceful, walkable street is often the opposite of silent. Learn more about Dr. Erica Walker and the Community Noise Lab here.