6.19.2007

Billboard-Free Sao Paulo

463330995_23103abdf0_o.jpg
On January 1, 2007, Sao Paulo's rightwing populist mayor made a striking proclamation: no outdoor advertising anywhere in the city. Suddenly, the city of 11 million people had no visible billboards, illegal street posters, kiosk ads, or neon signs -- not even the Goodyear Blimp could pass muster. " Within months," as On the Media put it, "the city has gone from a Blade Runner-like vision of the future to a reclaimed past." The "visual pollution," in the mayor's words, was erased. The imagery, captured in a Flickr pool, is truly amazing.

498112001_09a1191e98_o.jpg
468581426_288d94b08c_o.jpg
465485119_b2a32d3e7d_o.jpg

1 comment:

Diana said...

Wowser! Wish more mayors had this kind of courage.