Five years after Gilberto Kassab, the mayor of São Paulo, Brazil passed the "Clean City Law", banning all visual pollution around the city, both citizens and businesses are thankful.
São Paulo, the "largest metropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, and "the 7th-most-populous city in the world," has managed to successfully eliminate all billboard and other "visual pollution" around the city.
Mayor Gilberto Kassab believed that the overbearing existence of billboards was just as invasive and disruptive as noise and air pollution, so he passed the "Clean City Law" in 2006 as an attempt to put an end to these visual disruptions.
As it turns out, "most citizens and some advertising entities report being quite pleased with the now billboard-less city. A survey this year found that a 70 percent of residents say the Clean City Law has been 'beneficial,' and "some advertisers are actually thankful for the ban, as it's forced them to reevaluate and improve", writes author Cord Jefferson.
FULL STORY: A Happy, Flourishing City With No Advertising

In Most U.S. Cities, Archaic Laws Limit Roommate Living
Critics argue laws preventing unrelated adults from living in the same home fail to understand the modern American household.

Ten Signs of a Resurgent Downtown
In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe continues his exploration of a holistic and practical approach to post-pandemic urban center recovery, anchored in local context and community-driven initiatives that promote livability, safety, and sustainability.

Off-Peak is the New On-Peak
Public transit systems in major U.S. cities are starting to focus on non-rush hour travelers as pre-pandemic commuting patterns shift and transportation needs change.

Tacoma Coalition Calls for ‘Tenants’ Bill of Rights’
The group wants to put more power in the hands of tenants, but the city has its own, competing proposal for addressing the housing crisis.

New Power Transmission Line Approved in the Southwest
The proposed transmission line will transfer wind-produced power from New Mexico to cities in Arizona and California.

The Limitations of ‘Reconnecting Communities’
The Biden administration has pledged to correct the damage imposed on communities by highways and infrastructure, but many projects are only committing to minor improvements, not transformative changes.
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
Code Studio
TAG Associates, Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Knox County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.