Soundscape Research in Multicultural Market Areas- Example of Berlin Kreuzberg

Market areas are places where sellers and buyers come together periodically. Throughout its history, market areas have always been places that allow rich cultural interaction. At those places usually, people from different cultural backgrounds and speaking different languages come together. Due to this rich cultural and social potential promoting social relations, it has been the subject of many studies from different disciplinary points of view. However, no study deals in detail with the soundscape of those areas where the human voice is often the main sound source and leads to unique acoustic environments. The study determines the role of market area soundscapes by means of user assessments and acoustic measurements. A field study was carried out in different market areas in Berlin Kreuzberg. This district is a culturally diverse and multilingual area and in the street markets many products, mainly fruit and vegetable sales, are sold. In this study, comparative sound measurements and surveys were conducted. The field survey, which was held in Turkish, German, and English language, was applied to the group of sellers and buyers. The soundscape of these areas including its perception was systematically investigated and the role of sound as a mediator between cultures explored.