Five years ago, the mayor of São Paulo banned outdoor advertising, forbidding billboards, ads on transportation, and ads in front of stores. Initially, the business community was concerned it would lead to millions in lost revenue. But in 2011, a study found that 70 percent of São Paulo residents thought the law had turned out to be beneficial. One of the goals of the law was to eliminate “visual pollution,” and with so many billboards gone, some of the city’s architecture could be better seen. Check out this Flickr stream of São Paulo after ads were eliminated.
Watch this great short documentary (in English and Portuguese) from when the law was passed explaining the big changes in the city:
And here’s a Brazilian media report on the ad ban:
Finally, here’s a video from 2008 where paulistas discuss their ad-free city:
