Keep Public Spaces Free of Commercialism

Tell your stories about the sale of advertising or naming rights in your community

Faced with budget shortfalls, cities and states are offering public spaces up to corporate America’s marketers, hoping for a quick buck. Across the country, plans are in the works to sell advertising on bridges, tunnels, fire trucks, schools and just about every other type of public space. Sites that belong to the public—that embody public values and reflect shared histories—are becoming nothing more than billboards.

Even though public officials often claim that they desperately need the added revenue, these schemes rarely bring in significant revenue. For example, advertising in schools often generates just a tiny fraction of one percent of district budgets.

Is your city for sale? Is your state up for grabs to the highest bidder? Post your stories about the sale of advertising or naming rights in your community’s public spaces, such as parks, roads, bridges, schools, emergency vehicles, etc.

Once you’ve shared your story, find out how you can take action in your community to resist this dangerous trend.

Add your story below

Be sure to include the name of the city, state, or other public entity to which you are referring.

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1-25 of 62 signatures
Number Date Name Location Share your story
62 Mon May 20 19:10:53 EDT 2013 carol jagiello bloomingdale, NJ
61 Mon May 20 14:06:08 EDT 2013 Dennis Hartenstine Birdsboro, PA
60 Thu May 02 21:09:17 EDT 2013 sandra miller spokane, WA The bombardment of ads on city transit buses in the town I'm from, Spokane WA, and in the city my brother lives in, Richland, WA is overwhelming. If they were putting up public service announcements that More....
59 Mon Apr 01 13:19:58 EDT 2013 Susan and John Teague Austin , TX I object! In Texas...Our clean drinking water and individual deeded property rights and by deed NO commercial neighborhood was taken over in Texas to put private commercial marina were they do not belong...on More....
58 Tue Mar 12 19:28:58 EDT 2013 Ace Strife Flanders, NJ
57 Sat Mar 09 10:04:05 EST 2013 Jennifer Pedroza Hobart, IN I live in a small town in northwest Indiana. There is a strong sense of hometown pride here. While we don't have a ton of advertising everywhere, yet, our police vehicle were .donate by Walmart.
56 Thu Mar 07 23:36:19 EST 2013 carol jagiello bloomingdale, NJ Most parents in my town see nothing wrong with advertising on school buses. I am unsure if the decsion has been made. Kids need to know not everything is for sale.
55 Sun Feb 03 13:37:05 EST 2013 Anonymous Cleveland, TN The areas,landscapes,waterways and the many endangered/migratory species, in and around the SE TN,N(W) Ga, (particularly areas in and around the Harrison Bay State park,and The Red Clay State More....
54 Sun Feb 03 13:36:22 EST 2013 Anonymous Cleveland, TN The areas,landscapes,waterways and the many endangered/migratory species, in and around the SE TN,N(W) Ga, (particularly areas in and around the Harrison Bay State park,and The Red Clay State More....
53 Sat Feb 02 11:16:37 EST 2013 Don Puckett Prairie City, OR Another example of what is now public property some will be corporate, and we we told that communism was the enemy of the people. Ha!
52 Thu Jan 17 13:23:52 EST 2013 Heather Ruhnke Crest Hill, IL I am so tired of these businesses having these glowing signs, the store is huge why do they need a huge neon sign to blind you while you are driving. Enough is enough.
51 Fri Jan 04 20:55:14 EST 2013 William J Gawne Jr riverside, IL
50 Mon Dec 10 12:42:46 EST 2012 Christopher Benjamin Largo, FL
49 Sun Dec 09 15:19:00 EST 2012 Daniel Dorsey MD
48 Tue Nov 20 09:15:59 EST 2012 Daniel Belachew Cambridge, MA
47 Wed Nov 14 20:59:49 EST 2012 Paul Acker-Taxis Placerville, CA
46 Thu Oct 25 20:19:39 EDT 2012 Nina Kalhor san francisco, CA
45 Sun Jul 22 15:20:11 EDT 2012 Lily Johnson PORTLAND, OR I moved to Portland, Oregon shortly after my daughter was born and remember watching the Rose Festival Parade with both my children. It was with a sense of pride in the locals. Now 30 some years later, More....
44 Mon Jul 16 10:56:16 EDT 2012 Brandon Becker Cary, NC It's hard to walk anywhere around here without seeing an advertisement for something. The forest (away from trails, even) is the only place of solitude now. I fully support this campaign.
43 Thu Jul 12 17:19:09 EDT 2012 Janice Weiland Thousand Oaks, CA I've lived in Thousand Oaks, Ca. for 21years. When I came in 1991, there was the groundbreaking ceremony for the new "Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza". The place is gorgeous. In recent years I noticed a More....
42 Wed Jul 11 12:23:09 EDT 2012 Courtney Chicago, IL In Chicago, we have a fairly good (by comparison) public transporation system. The CTA does it's best to provide reliable service and communication when service is disrupted, dispite chronic underfunding More....
41 Mon Jul 09 14:19:33 EDT 2012 Andrea Wardlaw Cypress, TX I have seen advertising for Rainforest Cafe on a Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school bus here in Cypress, Texas. Kids aren't billboards, and their school buses shouldn't be either.
40 Mon Jul 09 11:43:50 EDT 2012 Ken Kocses Brooklyn, NY
39 Mon Jul 09 04:04:08 EDT 2012 Ray Levy Phoenix, AZ
38 Sun Jul 08 23:22:00 EDT 2012 ryan hebert broussard, LA
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