Regulation and social acceptability of night noise

Immersion in rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud

Abstract

This article looks at the regulation of nightlife and, more specifically, the regulation of recreational noise in a Parisian street. Stemming from extensive field experience, it looks at noise control practices and at their management styles through the study of actors’ strategies. This article aims at showing the co-production of urban politics of noise disturbance. This contribution considers both the mobilization of "social actors known as ordinary" (residents, night-goers, bar managers) and the forms of public space layouts by the institutional parties involved (accountable associations, elected representatives, mediators). In the background, the relationship to the sonic environment is questioned.