Moscow's city government has called time on what it sees as
the garish growth of billboards and screens in historic areas of
Russia's capital.
The move follows a similar citizen-driven backlash against signage in China, where the upmarket North Bund area of Shanghai has prohibited all but nine billboards.
In a new decree, the Moscow government has banned all outdoor advertising in historic areas around the Kremlin, the Novodevichy Monastery and the Kolomenskoye Estate.
The implementation of the decree will be phased, with the Kremlin ban applying from January 2009, the monastery ban applying from June 2009, and the Kolomenskoye Estate ban applying from December 2009.
The move follows a similar citizen-driven backlash against signage in China, where the upmarket North Bund area of Shanghai has prohibited all but nine billboards.
In a new decree, the Moscow government has banned all outdoor advertising in historic areas around the Kremlin, the Novodevichy Monastery and the Kolomenskoye Estate.
The implementation of the decree will be phased, with the Kremlin ban applying from January 2009, the monastery ban applying from June 2009, and the Kolomenskoye Estate ban applying from December 2009.
Our take:
This is pretty interesting news considering that not too long ago the city turned over all outdoor and out-of-home advertising to JC Decaux. Of course, it's not without precedent either, as Sao Paolo has banned all forms of out-of-home advertising for nearly a year now, as have numerous smaller municipalities around the globe.
Moscow continues to have a love-hate relationship with capitalist endeavors, which is particularly ironic considering that it's fast becoming one of the most expensive cities to live in in Europe. Suffice it to say, this ruling could be repealed as soon as the city finds an offer it likes better, or local entrepreneurs make it worth the city planners' whiles to resume ooh ad activity.
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