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Three Is a Trend: Billboard-Free Cities

September 10, 2008 at 3:30 PM | 1 Comment

A billboard ban--called an act against "visual pollution" by the mayor--went into effect on January 1, 2007 in São Paulo. And what the Brazilian city started could soon become a global trend.

In China, the well-touristed city of Xi'an has just announced it will remove advertising from its historic center as part of a broader plan to spruce up the imperial capital. Meanwhile in Cleveland, some government officials are trying to reign in billboards using a legal clause already on the city's books.

Other South American cities including Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia are looking into the idea of ending outdoor advertising, too. Could billboard prohibition be the new smoking ban?

Related Stories:
· Billboards Gotta Go in Xi'an [IT]
· Advertising Rage [Cleveland Scene]
· Clearing the Air [OTM]
· Advertising coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of São Paulo: andredeak]