"Sonic empowerment" is a cultural tendency in which sound plays an ever increasing role. Anyone is automatically involved and therefore holds an acoustic competence. Thus, this book focuses not only on the sounds that we hear, but also encourages the perception of sounds in cities as correlations rather than mere audible phenomena. By examining noise legislation, urban planning, sound design, media use, and cultural tendencies, Felix Urban proves the existence of an intertwined audible sphere in urban agglomerations. With Acoustic Competence, he addresses the scientific reader as well as any person interested in the audible sphere of our cities. On the basis of an interdisciplinary perspective, he summarises useful aspects of urban sound and cultural theory, which he then applies in two case studies: A deep dive into the diverse sound cultures of two vibrant and distinct cities—Johannesburg and Berlin.