This talk explores the history and politics of sound mapping and noise mapping in urban contexts. It investigates sound mapping projects whose concerns range acoustic ecology to urban sensorial history, and it considers the role of mapping in recent sound art, focusing on participatory and community-based art projects. It further examines recent innovations in noise mapping, including participatory noise mapping apps and automatic noise monitoring systems. Whereas sound mapping projects typically aim to engage urban communities and publics in issues of soundscape and acoustic ecology, noise maps can be seen to enact new forms of ‘acoustic power’, determining how acoustic environments are regulated, legislated and controlled.