Billboards

Is Bright Right or Blight?

A proposal to create a new outdoor advertising district in San Francisco has some locals anticipating a retail revival, while others dread the possible billboard blight.

16 October 2009 - 10:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Billboards: Problem, or Solution?

In San Francisco, the mid-Market St. area has struggled for decades with blighted conditions. An area property owner thinks that digital billboards could solve the problem, and has put a proposition on the local ballot to get them built.

1 October 2009 - 8:00am

The San Francisco Chronicle

L.A. Supergraphics Ban Upheld

A federal judge has allowed a citywide ban on new digital billboards and building-sized supergraphics to continue.

30 September 2009 - 5:00am

Los Angeles Times

The Planetizen News Brief - 7/23/09

4:30 minutes (4.13 MB)

Crime drops in U.S. cities, El Paso tries to block new billboards, and a new green street opens in California -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, listen or download.

23 July 2009 - 5:00am

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Banning Billboards

The city of El Paso, Texas, considers whether to become the latest of several cities to impose new restrictions on billboards that amounts to a ban on future construction.

22 July 2009 - 5:00am

El Paso Times

Removing Illegal Signs

On Thursday, the Department of Buildings of New York City took off a billboard which has blanketed the lower floors of the 19th-century Cushman Building, 174 Broadway, at Maiden Lane for several years.

2 June 2009 - 5:00am

New York Times

Eric Damian Kelly

Bright Lights, Big City?

Mon, 05/04/2009 - 08:43

I missed the APA national conference for the first time in 15 years -- but I quickly heard reports that one of the hot topics focused on banning electronic message boards. I dissent.

What would Times Square be without the colorful, multi-message, oft-changing signs? Would Las Vegas have become the tourist definition that it has without the colorful signs? I am not a huge fan of Las Vegas, but I certainly think it has the right to define itself as it wishes.

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older posts

A "No Exceptions" Approach to Banning Billboards

An outright, carefully worded ban on new signage is the key to ending Los Angeles' billboard drama, according to this op-ed.

21 April 2009 - 1:00pm

Los Angeles Times

Despite Drama, Signs Can Have a Role in L.A.

L.A. is boiling with billboard drama right now. Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne looks at the debate and argues that signage can have a positive role in the urban landscape.

30 March 2009 - 6:00am

Los Angeles Times

Maxed Out on Billboards

The city of Waco, Texas, imposes limits on new billboards--hoping to reduce its overall inventory with a "cap and replace" strategy.

19 March 2009 - 11:00am

News 8 Austin

One Point for Supergraphics

The same judge who decided that banning outdoor ads is unconstitutional has rule that the city of Los Angeles acted unlawfully in denying an outdoor advertiser new permits. The city began trying to eradicate billboards and giant ads in 2002.

18 March 2009 - 8:00am

Los Angeles Times

Supergraphics Baron Claims Right to Expression

As the city and activists work to control giant 'supergraphics' posted without permits around the city, the largest poster of posters attempts to claim that it's a free speech issue. His Statue of Liberty banners can be seen across L.A.

17 March 2009 - 5:00am

Los Angeles Times

Coming Soon: More Ads in Public Spaces

BrandWeek says that the downturn in the economy makes more ads in public spaces 'a no-brainer', because cities get revenue and advertisers get exposure in previously untapped locations.

10 March 2009 - 1:00pm

BrandWeek

The Aesthetic Dangers of Group Decisionmaking

In response to an essay on restricting outdoor advertising in L.A., designer and lawyer Lawrence Barth argues that putting these decisions into the hands of groups -- whether city- or activist-led -- can lead to unintended consequences.

7 February 2009 - 7:00am

Design Observer

L.A. Orders 'Supergraphics' Removed

As part of the city's drawn-out battle with outdoor advertisers, Los Angeles officials have ordered building owners to remove "supergraphic" ads plastered to the sides of large buildings.

3 February 2009 - 11:00am

The New York Times

L.A.'s Billboard War

L.A. is at war with outdoor advertising. Though activists have urged the city to make moves to block video billboards, it's not really clear which side is winning the war, according to this piece from Design Observer.

26 January 2009 - 6:00am

Design Observer

Big Ads are Hazards to Safety, Business

Outdoor signs, some of them quite large, have gone up around Los Angeles despite a 90-day moratorium on them. Tenants of buildings with such multistory "supergraphics" draped over their windows share their grief.

21 January 2009 - 9:00am

Los Angeles Times

One Victory for the City in Billboard Battle

A federal court has knocked down a previous ruling that Los Angeles' billboard ban is unconstitutional.

7 January 2009 - 1:00pm

Los Angeles Times

In Japan, a Billboard That Watches You

Two digital cameras atop a billboard at a Tokyo rail station will scan passersby. One will record who is looking at the billboard, the other will count the number of people passing by.

18 December 2008 - 2:00pm

Good Gear Guide