http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/ 2008/01/02/feature-02
Advertising officials vow again to regulate Bucharest billboards 02/01/2008 The Romanian capital is inundated with billboards and advertisements. In an effort to curb the messages, the International Advertising Association of Romania plans to help draft some regulations. By Alina Bandila for Southeast European Times in Bucharest - 02/01/08 photo <http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/images/2008/01/02/ALINAphoto.jpg> Huge posters and billboards dominate commercial and business centres, as well as housing districts and historic zones throughout Bucharest. [Alina Bandila] Bucharest has often been called The Little Paris of the East because of its leafy boulevards, architecture, and sidewalk cafes, but a dramatic increase in large billboards is affecting the city's cultural identity and aesthetic beauty. Huge posters and billboards are not only omnipresent in commercial and business centres, but also in housing districts and historic zones throughout Bucharest. Executive Director of the International Advertising Association of Romania (IAA), Victor Dobre, said the effects of outdoor advertising have not been measured. "We will need to evaluate the present situation and then propose regulations for criteria for the size of billboards, efficiency of disposing of advertisements and the urban aesthetic," said Dobre. The IAA is a vast network that is represented in six continents and 76 countries. As the executive director in Romania, Dobre aims to promote international publicity standards in the country. He says that IAA-Romania will take the necessary steps to change the face of the city. The first step will take place in four months when the association will present a plan to the municipality that Dobre says will change the face of Bucharest in a year. This project, which will be designed by advertising and architecture experts, must be accepted by city hall and then be voted on in parliament, which may take longer than a year. Even if the initiative is accepted, the face of Bucharest may remain unchanged if the past is any indication. For the past two years, Mayor Adriean Videanu has said that the situation must improve, insisting, "We must change the urbanism law." Parliament adopted it in 2001 and has amended it many times. Each of Bucharest's six districts develop their own outdoor strategies, except those regarding historic buildings. The local authority distributes licenses and ensures that the law is being observed. Therefore, even if the general council of a municipality passes a regulation, the districts are not obliged to follow it unless the districts pass their own corresponding law. District experts, however, say advertising companies are responsible for billboards throughout the city. Chief of the Communication Department, Sector 1, Dragos Stefan Raportaru explained, "If control services of the district amend the laws, the companies contest the penalty. The district cannot intervene on the private domain after the pronunciation of a judicial sentence." Additionally, some experts say building owners are aggravating the problem by ignoring the law against placing billboards on historic buildings unless they are being renovated or are under construction. "The building owners are using this exception as a pretext to set up a structure on which to place huge billboards. The whole city is a like a building site," says the president of Architectural Order, Serban Sturdza. (C) SETimes ( <http://www.setimes.com> http://www.setimes.com) ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix) Aboneaza-te la <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ngo_list: o alternativa moderata (un pic) la [ngolist] Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?
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