Urban design in Western culture has long been reduced to graphical expression, giving priority to the sense of sight and to spatial dimension. In contrast to image, sound is a qualitative expression of time. Therefore, sound contains the dynamic information necessary to understand the daily experience of inhabitants in their own environment. Each urban configuration shows some characteristic sonic features which reflect the existing links between a location and its intrinsic temporalities and uses. These features compose its ordinary, daily sonic identity. Working on the basis of sonic identity allows the specificities of each urban configuration to be described, and makes up thus a useful tool for qualitative analysis in urban design.