Other, more ephemeral elements of the urban landscape are beginning to gain more attention. In this article, The Guardian overviews the work of an urban “smellscape” researcher, Kate McLean. It may seem self evident the cities such as Amsterdam (or Vancouver), we can also imagine the smells of other cities and places. Some of these bring pleasant thoughts (the smell of the sea in Victoria) or unpleasant ones (the pulp mill in Kamloops), but they form part of our daily experiences and are imprinted in our memories.
In our larger cities these smellscapes are complex and intertwine with the mosaic of cultures that fill our streets and sidewalks. The smokey smell of a coffee roaster, the sweet smell of a Greek bakery, the multi-layered smell of an Indian restaurant, the incense of Chinatown. I can think of many of these from my childhood – Granville Island and Banyan Books (Vancouver), Fan-Tan Alley or the Harbour (Victoria), Wells Grey Park or Long Beach. Other cities I’ve visited have their own smellscapes: the food markets in Bangkok, the green streets of Adelaide, musty catacombs of Lima, bookstores of London.
The above are all positive memories, but smellscapes can also be a hazard and warn us of dangers to our well-being. The above-mentioned smell of the pulp-mill in Kamloops is obvious, as is the smell of vehicle exhaust and diesel smoke. Other cities may have an acrid smell of various oxides and VOCs percolating in the air and making their way into our lungs. Globally, ambient air pollution from vehicles and industry is still a major problem. As the metropolitan areas in developed nations become cleaner this can be ignored by the Western media. However, massive pollution is a daily fact of life for many, whether in Delhi, Beijing, Nairobi, or Lima.
Tracing smellscapes is a unique way to weave the underlying cultural fabric of the city. It is also an indicator for pollution and those smells that are potentially harmful to our health.