Episode 17: THE NOISE ABATEMENT SOCIETY - Lisa Lavia

"Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)"), or so says the title of the single from Elton John's classic 1973 album, 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', but, here at Quiet Mark, we possibly subscribe more to John Lennon's words in The Plastic Ono Band's 1969 anthemic chant, 'Give Peace a Chance'.  But can sound, (or rather sound design and soundscapes), really have the power to stop people from fighting, and instead return peacefully to their homes, as the clubs empty on busy Saturday Night?  Well, that's just one of the many NAS Soundscape Programme's adventures in sound that Lisa Lavia, Managing Director of The Noise Abatement Society (NAS), shares in conversation with our host, Simon Gosling, in this episode of The Quiet Mark Podcast.     'There are no bad sounds. There are only the wrong sounds in the wrong context', explains Lisa as she talks of her work establishing the NAS’ soundscape programme, which has positioned NAS firmly at the global forefront of international soundscape standardisation and applied soundscape practices in the UK through demonstration projects, applied research and policy development.  The Noise Abatement Society campaigns and conducts research, education and outreach to policymakers, industry, academia, and citizens to solve noise pollution problems for the benefit of all. Listen to Lisa explain its origins, its family ties with Quiet Mark and the work it does to provide solutions to noise pollution, support the next generation of acousticians, encourage better sound design and improve acoustics in the built environment. 

Om Podcasten

Welcome to The Quiet Mark Podcast. Simon Gosling, CMO at Quiet Mark - the independent, international approval award programme associated with the UK Noise Abatement Society - explores our relationship with sound in a series of conversations with experts who’ve spent their lives working with acoustics. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises environmental noise as the 2nd largest environmental health risk in Western Europe behind air quality. The Mayor of London’s Environment Strategy warns that noise can contribute towards a range of physical and mental health problems, disturb sleep and affect people’s hearing, communication and learning. And, in our smart-phone era, noise isn’t only about the big sounds of planes, traffic and construction sites. Smaller sounds like someone FaceTiming on the bus or playing music loudly through their tinny headphones can cause stress, annoyance and impact on our mental health. Let’s talk quietly about sound.