Dive Brief:

• The city of Grenoble in France is making billboards illegal. 
• Starting in January 2015, the city will ban the use of advertising in public spaces and remove its 326 outdoor advertising signs including 64 billboards. 
• The city wanted to free up the ad space for community expression and will plant 50 young trees in some of the spaces. 

Dive Insight: 

While the removal of advertising from public spaces might improve the look of the city, one can wonder whether Grenoble will miss the revenue—especially with the recent technology favoring outdoor ads. If the French city find success with the efforts—whatever that may look like— it could serve as a model for other cities to remove ads too. It could also serve as a what not to do for other cities considering the option.