About Me
Since my first cassette recorder as a child, capturing sounds around my house, I’ve been asking the same question: What stories do sounds tell? That early curiosity evolved into a lifelong practice of transforming how we experience cities, public spaces, and our sonic environments.
I'm Kenya Williams,
a creative soundpreneur, urban planner, acoustic ecologist, and soundscape researcher dedicated to elevating how we listen to and shape the world around us. One-fifth of the human sensory experience comes through hearing, yet we’ve learned to tune out our auditory surroundings rather than tune in. My work reverses that pattern, helping people renew their relationship with sound and listening.
Through Hush Soundscape Planning & Design, the first urban planning firm specializing in soundscape planning and design, I help communities and cities incorporate sound into design processes that respect both ecology and human experience. For 25 years, Adore Recordings, the genre-neutral record label I founded, has explored sound’s artistic potential through musical, electronic, and experimental works. Through Community HiFi, I promote sonic wellness and raise awareness of the significant benefits of active listening, empowering communities to access soundscapes that heal, inspire, and build community.
I want to be your pause button in a busy world, a meditation that helps you reconnect with your sonic surroundings in meaningful ways. Sound isn’t just noise; it’s memory, meaning, and medicine. When we stop treating soundscapes as mere background and instead intentionally plan and design with the soundscape in mind, we transform how people experience their environment.
My ventures are not separate pursuits but different frequencies of the same mission: creating a world where sound is recognized as essential for human well-being, where communities are aware of their auditory surroundings, and where we all listen more deeply than ever before.
My Philosophies
On Sound and Identity
"Every community has a sonic identity, the sounds that define who they are and where they belong. My work isn't about imposing silence or perfection. It's about helping communities recognize, celebrate, and preserve the sounds that matter most to them."
On the Soundscape Approach
"Traditional noise control and enforcement ask, 'How do we penalize or eliminate unwanted sounds?' Soundscape planning and design asks, 'How do we create meaningful sonic environments that support health, belonging, and thriving?' That shift in question changes everything."
On Sound as Art and Science
"Sound itself is music. It's also memory, meaning, and medicine. When we stop treating it as mere background and start designing with intention, we change how people experience their world."
On Integration
"My three ventures aren't separate pursuits: they're different frequencies of the same mission. Through soundscape planning, I design sonic environments. Through music, I explore sound's artistic potential. Through advocacy, I raise community awareness. Together, they create harmony."
On Sensory Justice
"We talk about environmental justice, about access to clean air and green space. But sonic equity is just as important. A child who can't concentrate because of constant noise pollution or a community whose cultural soundscape is being erased, these are justice issues."
On Legacy and Movement
"I don't want to be the only person doing this work, but the first of many. Success means cities worldwide have soundscape planners, communities understand their sonic rights, and the next generation listens more deeply than we ever did."
My Sonic Ventures
Three ways I am building sonic literacy and community through listening.
Adore Recordings
For 25 years, Adore Recordings has led the way in genre-neutral sound exploration. We curate ambient, downtempo, and minimal electronic music where sound itself becomes art. Our philosophy: visuals complement sound, never the other way around. Through film production and sound design, we craft immersive audiovisual experiences that encourage deep, active listening and push beyond traditional musical boundaries.
Community Hifi
Community HiFi fosters a deep understanding of sonic environments and awareness of how soundscapes influence well-being. Respecting different perspectives on sound’s cultural significance, we support preserving beneficial sounds. Through sonic stewardship, we envision communities valuing soundscapes as highly as green spaces, where listening becomes an act of care, discovery, and connection.
Hush soundscape planning & design
Hush Soundscape Planning and Design is the first urban planning firm specializing in soundscape planning. Using multidisciplinary approaches that combine city planning, urban design, ecology, acoustics, and sensory urbanism, we work to preserve healthy sonic environments, reduce soundscape pollution, and increase public awareness of and access to beneficial soundscapes.
Current Projects & Activities
WHAT I AM WORKING ON RIGHT NOW
Hush Soundscape Planning & Design
- Global Expansion Plan
Adore Recordings
- Promoting and Supporting the Artists
Community HiFi
- Sonic Well-being Education Series
Creative Practice
- Field Recording Projects
- Experimental Sound Composition
- Producing a Soundscape Documentary
Community Engagement
- Local Soundscape Awareness Campaigns
- Hosting Community Events
- Collaborative Research Projects
Looking Ahead: Next 12-18 Months
Building Strategic Partnerships
- Opening Hush Planning’s first international office and establishing partnerships
Expanding the Movement
- Increasing public awareness of sensory urbanism and acoustic ecology
Affiliated Partners
