We explain what visual pollution is and what its causes and consequences are. Also, its general characteristics and examples.
What is visual pollution?
Visual pollution is understood as the presence in a landscape of graphic or visual elements that do not belong to it and that interrupt its aesthetics, violate its overall perception and/or hinder the beauty of the environment.
This type of pollution can occur in both rural and urban environmentsand has to do with the presence of non-architectural elements, such as signs, antennas, cables, poles, advertisements, trellises.
These and many other possible factors generate aggressive, invasive and uncontrolled visual stimulationthat is, inharmonious.
Visual pollution affects the quality of life in a noticeable and considerable way, transmitting feelings of chaos, aggression or neglect. Furthermore, its elements interrupt the panoramic view of the landscape, much as a garbage dump next to a beautiful forest can do.
See also: Thermal pollution
Origin of visual pollution
The idea that there could be visual contamination It started to be popular around the 60's in the US
In 1965 it was enacted a law to regulate the type of advertising that could be allowed on highways and federal roads in the country, given that they constituted an element that spoiled the landscape and also distracted drivers.
Causes of visual pollution
Like other forms of pollution, visual It is usually a consequence of human activity.
For example, advertising, urban expansion, industrialization and even agricultural life leaves visual traces They are not designed to interfere as little as possible with the perception of the environment, but sometimes quite the opposite, to stand out as much as possible in it.
This ends by distract from what could be a friendly or peaceful environmentor by hindering the vision of an attractive landscape, often devaluing the properties or making them less attractive to the visitor.
Effects of visual pollution
visual pollution does not have too serious an effect on the environment or in animals, since it is a fundamentally aesthetic phenomenon, of perception.
In humans, however, is associated with psychological factors such as increased stresswhich significantly deteriorates their living, work or development conditions.
Furthermore, in a socioeconomic sphere, visual pollution negatively impacts tourism and in recreational activities, making hostile environments that should be harmonious or friendly.
Types of visual pollution
Visual pollution can be of various types:
- Advertising. The one that comes from advertisements, messages or calls for attention of some kind.
- For waste. Produced by the accumulation of waste of any kind, from piles of garbage to abandoned objects (vehicles, buildings, etc.).
- Architectural. Caused by buildings that violate the urban or rural landscape of the environment.
- Lighting. That which consists of different types of lights that interrupt the landscape, such as reflectors, for example.
- Industrial. It is generated by the elements of the productive activity, such as chimneys, cooling towers, large silos, radio antennas, etc.
Where does visual pollution occur?
This type of pollution can occur in virtually all environments: in urban landscapes such as cities, towns, etc., in parks, green areas or transit areas, or even in rural areas where population density is low.
One can also talk about visual pollution inside a buildinglike a train station, through which large numbers of people circulate.
Street art vs. graffiti
Graffiti can be a complicated case to analyze in terms of visual pollution.
Lots of graffiti are visually aggressive, baroque or strikingbut they are part of an artistic trend known as “Street Art” or Street Art.
His illustrations even They seek to be part of the urban landscape and resignify it, add discourse and make it more interesting.
Besides, many graffiti that consist only of a signaturein obscene or protest messages, constitute a visual element that bursts into the city and deteriorates the quality of the landscape.
The latter would have to be deleted periodically, but who decides what the limit is between one and the other?
Advertising or pollution?
The difference between a daring advertisement and a polluting visual element It usually depends on the context. The same sign can be perfectly fine on a corner of a busy city, but be intolerable in the middle of a municipal park.
Ultimately, it is about moderate the amount of information you are bombarded with people in their living environment and delimit the spaces conducive to this and those that, on the other hand, must be kept safe.
This becomes a more complex dilemma when you consider the sums of money behind the advertising world.
Noise pollution
Just as there is visual pollution, there is also auditory, sound or acoustic pollution, which consists of the presence of annoying or deafening noises in otherwise quiet environments, or also in the excess of simultaneous sounds in a given area.
This form of pollution has consequences not only on human beings, but on other forms of life, increasing stress levels and could lead to specific physical damage in the long term.
It is common to suffer from increased stress, damage to the auditory system and even headaches and disorientation in highly acoustically polluted environments.
Possible solutions
Some possible solutions for environmental pollution are:
- Reduce and control the amount of advertising allowed in a specific area, whether urban or rural.
- Frequently remove obsolete signs, posters and other advertisements, especially large, brightly colored ones.
- Plan protected areas within cities, such as parks and other environments that allow visual and auditory rest.
- Allow local people to exercise control over the number of ads allowed.
Examples of visual pollution
Some examples of visual pollution are:
- Excessive presence of poles and electrical or telephone wiring in important urban, natural or tourist landscapes.
- Cluttering of intra- or extra-urban expressways with advertising, sometimes with lights, movements, colors and even sound.
- Placing advertisements and messages on light poles, walls and trees without them ever being removed, despite having lost validity.
- Bulky or elevated unfinished constructions in cities, or designed to violently break with the surrounding urban panorama.
References
- “Visual pollution” at https://es.wikipedia.org/
- “Visual pollution: causes, consequences and solutions” at https://www.ecologiaverde.com/
- “Visual pollution: what it is, causes, consequences and solutions” at https://cumbrepuebloscop20.org/
- “Visual pollution” at https://www.euston96.com/
- “Visual pollution: excess posters contribute to stress” in the newspaper The Nation from Argentina. https://www.lanacion.com.ar/
