A Happy, Flourishing City With No Advertising ⇥

Cord Jefferson for GOOD:

Saying that visual pollution was as burdensome as air and noise pollution, [Mayor Gilberto] Kassab banned every billboard, poster, and bus ad in São Paulo with the Clean City Law. Even business signage had to go. Within months, city authorities had removed tens of thousands of ads both big and small—much to the dismay of business owners, who said the ban would surely ruin them.

Some more photos of the effects of the Clean City Law were published on the Time website, which also clarifies that not all ads are forbidden. Rather, they must comply with the strict provisions of the Law. A very interesting experiment which would probably work for many cities, but would surely cripple places like Times Square or Las Vegas, both of which are almost defined by their advertising.