By 2050, cities will host 2.5 billion more urban dwellers, making the world almost 70% urban. This coexistence brings along a series of novel and urgent challenges, related to the processes by which we shape our public realm to maximize shared values. Sound is a fundamental component of our cities, of their cultures, and of the health and wellbeing of their citizens. In an urban fabric the properties of the soundscape are entangled with behavior of the citizens and are the focus of the ReSilence project.

The main objective of the ReSilence project is to support the development of art-driven technologies for designing the soundscape of future cities through the collaboration of artists, architects, urban designers, scientists, engineers and researchers. ReSilence will support Art-Driven Experiments through Open Calls to artists and artist-SME teams, with a specific budget allocated for this purpose.Artists in ReSilence will have access to a wide number of AI and XR technologies developed in the project and access to new technologies to explore the borders between sound and silence in a changing world by producing sound awareness in urban spaces (not only reducing the intensity of noise, but also considering it as energy producer and designing positive sounds, sounds we want to preserve and multiply. We will consider new types of sonic urban experiences that expand possibilities for accessibility, active participation/engagement, sustainability and social inclusion, assessing trust around AI & XR technologies. ReSilence organizes its activities around four pilot use cases, 1) musical experience design centered on the active participation of citizens in music creation 2) the new silence of mobility 3) the acoustic perception of outdoor urban soundscapes 4) enhanced experiences for people with hearing and vision impairments.

ReSilence aims at promoting social inclusiveness at all groups. Moreover, the project contributes to the 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Goal, “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Moreover ReSilence will enrich the New European Bauhaus which aims at facilitating and steering the transformation of our societies through a) regaining a sense of belonging, b) prioritizing the places and people that need it most and c) valorising diversity to securing accessibility and affordability.