Apartment house playground at Kontula, Helsinki
Apr 27, 2020, 08:57 AM
Helsinki lockdown sound recorded by Anna Katariina.
"I live in Helsinki, Kontula at mass-constructed 60s residential complexes with my family, one child and my partner. We are in corona isolation lockdown and only hang around in the apartment and in the neighborhood area. There are a lot of green woods and big gardens all around in Kontula area. You can always hear bird singing and gardening sounds here in the spring. Now you can hear better the cars humming in the background and construction site sounds pop up from the soundscape more now when it is quieter.
"There are big town house areas near, and we hear hammers knocking and motors sawing and sometimes you can smell smoke when people burn their fireplaces or light their wooden saunas. I do not mind that. I think it fun because I used to live in downtown and these are new sound and smell environments for me and remind me of countryside living. It might be surprising to people that a lot of low-income residents, elderly people and people with ethnic minority backgrounds live here but the environment is very green with big forest areas and almost always noticeably quiet. Now even more quiet. You cannot hear children playing outside so much because of corona lockdown.
"I would enjoy outdoor trips with my family a lot, but I must work and study from home. That gives me lot of anxiety and stress. I hope that people can find a way to take it easy at home and have a quiet time by themselves when they need it."
Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
"I live in Helsinki, Kontula at mass-constructed 60s residential complexes with my family, one child and my partner. We are in corona isolation lockdown and only hang around in the apartment and in the neighborhood area. There are a lot of green woods and big gardens all around in Kontula area. You can always hear bird singing and gardening sounds here in the spring. Now you can hear better the cars humming in the background and construction site sounds pop up from the soundscape more now when it is quieter.
"There are big town house areas near, and we hear hammers knocking and motors sawing and sometimes you can smell smoke when people burn their fireplaces or light their wooden saunas. I do not mind that. I think it fun because I used to live in downtown and these are new sound and smell environments for me and remind me of countryside living. It might be surprising to people that a lot of low-income residents, elderly people and people with ethnic minority backgrounds live here but the environment is very green with big forest areas and almost always noticeably quiet. Now even more quiet. You cannot hear children playing outside so much because of corona lockdown.
"I would enjoy outdoor trips with my family a lot, but I must work and study from home. That gives me lot of anxiety and stress. I hope that people can find a way to take it easy at home and have a quiet time by themselves when they need it."
Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds