Worldbuilding
Noise rules tell you more about a city than its grand buildings do.
Who is allowed to shout in the street, ring bells after dark, complain in public, or make a nuisance of themselves without consequence? Usually not the people doing the actual work. The regulations are never just about order. They are about whose inconvenience counts as disorder.
A city that fines hawkers for calling out, but excuses gentlemen from drunken singing, has already done the worldbuilding for you. Quiet is rarely neutral.
Who is allowed to shout in the street, ring bells after dark, complain in public, or make a nuisance of themselves without consequence? Usually not the people doing the actual work. The regulations are never just about order. They are about whose inconvenience counts as disorder.
A city that fines hawkers for calling out, but excuses gentlemen from drunken singing, has already done the worldbuilding for you. Quiet is rarely neutral.
Noise rules are often less about civic virtue than about tidying away people who can’t pay to be heard.
What gets me is how selective enforcement does most of the real work. A city can have all the ordinances it likes. If one side gets warned and the other gets excused, the rule is just decoration with a badge on it.
What gets me is how selective enforcement does most of the real work. A city can have all the ordinances it likes. If one side gets warned and the other gets excused, the rule is just decoration with a badge on it.