An Analysis of Auditory Rhythms in Urban Markets: A Case Study of the Grand Bazaar of Rasht

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.Sc. in Urban Planning, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

2 Postdoctoral Researcher in Urban Planning, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Abstract

Traditional markets, as living and multisensory spaces, manifest part of their spatio-temporal organization through recurring and variable patterns of sound. Despite the expansion of soundscape studies, a systematic analysis of temporality and the rhythmic structure of sounds in relation to daily activity cycles in Iran’s historic markets remains largely overlooked. Drawing on Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis within the soundscape framework, this study analyzes the auditory rhythms of the Grand Bazaar of Rasht across the daily cycle and demonstrates their structural differences in the morning, noon, and evening periods.
The research adopts a descriptive–analytical approach and was conducted through soundwalks and field recordings along two main corridors of the bazaar. The data were comparatively analyzed using Sonic Visualiser software based on the complementary indicators of RMS (background texture) and Peaks (salient events).
The findings indicate that in the morning the market exists in a state of “pre-density,” where salient peaks emerge at wider temporal intervals and with relative dispersion. At noon, with the intensification of activities, the sequence of salient peaks becomes more compressed, and the market’s rhythm shifts toward a dense linear pattern. In the evening, the rhythmic structure acquires spatial differentiation, as the density of salient events is not uniform across the two corridors.
The principal contribution of this study is the formulation of a measurable framework for “auditory rhythms” as the temporal organization of sounds emerging from the interaction between cyclical and linear rhythms, extractable and comparable through the two indicators of RMS and Peaks. This framework provides an analytical tool for identifying focal points for reinforcing auditory rhythms and safeguarding the sonic identity of historic markets within urban planning processes.

Highlights

  1. This study proposes a measurable framework for analyzing auditory rhythms in historic marketplaces based on RMS and Peak indicators.
  2. The rhythmic structure of Rasht Bazaar shifts from a pre-dense morning phase to a compact noon peak and a stabilized evening condition.
  3. The reduction in temporal intervals between significant acoustic events at noon indicates the dominance of linear (social) rhythms over cyclical natural layers.
  4. The fish market corridor exhibits higher rhythmic density and more clustered peak patterns compared to the main entrance corridor.
  5. Auditory rhythms result from the interaction of cyclical and linear rhythms and are perceived at the level of spatial auditory experience.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 12 December 2025
  • Revise Date: 26 February 2026
  • Accept Date: 07 March 2026
  • First Publish Date: 07 March 2026
  • Publish Date: 21 June 2026

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