LA Is Blasting Classical Music at Ear-Damaging Volume to Chase Unhoused People Out of the Subway

Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the country. At just over 65,000, it’s a serious problem for the city. One way the city’s Metro transit agency is now using to keep the unhoused out of subway stations: bright lights and classical music, according to the L.A. Times.

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In a new program that’s the result of cooperation between Metro’s security service and local law enforcement, classical music blasted over speakers, and flood lights are being used to keep the unhoused away from the city’s Westlake/MacArthur Park subway station. The goal, Metro told the Times, is to keep the unhoused away and stop crime. But critics compare the music and lights to torture and sleep deprivation tactics.

The music is being blasted at levels that could prove dangerous for hearing. Using devices that measure sound intensity, the Times found that the music is being played at an average of 83 decibels with some string arrangements reaching as high as 90 decibels. To put into perspective just how loud that is, the CDC notes that 80 – 85 decibels can damage hearing after just two hours.

Metro station using classical music to deter homeless

Worse yet, Metro representatives don’t think the music is loud with a spokesperson falsely claiming to the Times it’s played at just 72 decibels. The music has another united consequence as well: class division. The Times spoke with Musicologist Lily E. Hirsch who noted that the history of classical music being played in public areas can subtly hint that only certain groups of people are wanted in that space. “It’s like a bird marking its territory where you hear the signal and you go, ‘OK, this is not for me. This is for the older money crowd. And that technique seems to work. There are examples of teenagers leaving an area that’s playing classical music, not because they don’t like the music but because of the associations,” she said. She called what’s being done “hierarchies of sound,” making a clear distinction whose welcome and who isn’t.

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But even with clear evidence, Metro doesn’t see things that way. The agency told the Times that the music is restoring “safety at the transit station.” The agency pointed to its own data that showed that the music and lights have resulted in a 75 percent drop in calls for emergency service, 50 percent drop in vandalism, and a 20 percent drop in crime. Unfortunately, with those results, this program may soon find its way to other stations across the city.