Los Angeles is a unique city, to say the least. It's the only place you can drive next to Angelyne on your way to In-N-Out while listening to music on the radio curated by a former Sex Pistols band member and then take a selfie with Jesus, all in one day.
It’s such a unique city that we’ve even formed a symbiotic relationship with our billboards. These giant posters provide a form of entertainment to bored commuters stuck in traffic, desperately looking for a place to relocate their eyes from the rear bumper of a Prius covered in stickers from Obama’s 2008 and 2012 elections. In return, we allow the effects of advertising and psychological persuasion convince us that the 12th Fast and Furious movie will indeed be what we choose to see on Saturday night. Who would have thought that the City of Angels was rife with anthropological models?
Los Angeles residents and fans of this larger-than-life symbol of consumerism are in luck. A proposed bill to allow more massive and digital billboards in Downtown LA has already been approved by city leaders. The bill, AB 1373, was authored by Assembly member Miguel Santiago to allow advertisers to put up more signage and navigate around the red tape put in place by California’s Outdoor Advertising Act. AB 1373 would only affect billboards in a portion of DTLA, the area bordered by Figueroa, Wilshire, the 110 and 10 Freeways.
The bill is facing resistance from the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight, led by Dennis Hathaway, who believes that these new giant ads ruin the visual landscape of the city and will be a distraction to drivers. He also notes that the revenue from these giant posters will not be going to the city treasury of Downtown to repair sidewalks, potholes and address the homeless population, but to the billionaires Downtown instead.
Despite Hathaway's best efforts, LA city officials and decision-makers have approved the bill, so we'll have even more opportunities to keep our eyes off the road and into the realms of commercialism—if it gets signed into law, that is.
So the next time you’re cruising down the 10, be sure to peel your eyes away from your Snapchat for a moment to give a salute to the giant advertisement that hovers over your morning commute—after all, it is bringing revenue into the concrete jungle that you call home. Now, whether that money is going to the city treasury or into the pockets of notorious developers, the jury is out.