Visual pollution

Electrical and communication cables hang above an intersection in MacArthur Highway in Marilao, Bulacan, Philippines. A complex mix of commercial signs make up the view's background.
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Visual pollution is the degradation of the visual environment due to unattractive or disruptive elements that negatively impact the aesthetic quality of an area. It can affect urban, suburban, and natural landscapes.[1] It also refers to the impacts pollution has in impairing the quality of the landscape, formed from compounding sources of pollution to create the impairment. Visual pollution disturbs the functionality and enjoyment of a given area, limiting the ability for the wider ecological system, from humans to animals, to prosper and thrive within it due to the disruptions to their natural and human-made habitats. Although visual pollution can be caused by natural sources (e.g. wildfires), the predominant cause comes from human sources.[2]

As such, visual pollution is not considered a primary source of pollution but a secondary symptom of intersecting pollution sources. Its secondary nature and subjective aspect sometimes makes it difficult to measure and engage with[3][4] (e.g. within quantitative figures for policymakers). However, the history of the word pollution, and pollution's effect over time, reveals the fact that every form of pollution can be categorised and studied in its three main characteristics, namely contextual, subjective and complex.[1] Frameworks for measurement have been established and include public opinion polling and surveys, visual comparison, spatial metrics, and ethnographic work.[5][6][7][8][9]

Visual pollution can manifest across levels of analysis, from micro instances that effect the individual to macro issues that impact society as a whole. Instances of visual pollution can take the form of plastic bags stuck in trees, advertisements with contrasting colors and content, which create an oversaturation of anthropogenic visual information within a landscape,[10][11] to community-wide impacts of overcrowding, overhead power lines, or congestion. Poor urban planning and irregular built-up environments contrast with natural spaces, creating alienating landscapes.[8][12] Using Pakistan as a case study, a detailed analysis of all visual pollution objects was published in 2022.[1]

The effects of visual pollution have primary symptoms, such as distraction, eye fatigue, decreases in opinion diversity, and loss of identity.[8] It has also been shown to increase biological stress responses and impair balance.[13] As a secondary source of pollution, these also compound with the impact of its primary source such as light or noise pollution that can create multi-layered public health concerns and crisis.

  1. ^ a b c Nawaz, Raheel; Wakil, Khydija (13 October 2022). Visual Pollution: Concepts, Practices and Management Framework. Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited. doi:10.1108/978-1-80382-041-520221006. ISBN 978-1-80382-042-2.
  2. ^ Borowiak, Klaudia; Budka, Anna; Lisiak-Zielińska, Marta; Robaszkiewicz, Kinga; Cakaj, Arlinda; Agaj, Tropikë (2024-03-13). "Urban visual pollution: comparison of two ways of evaluation—a case study from Europe". Scientific Reports. 14 (1): 6138. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-56403-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10937664.
  3. ^ Portella, Adriana (2016). Visual pollution: advertising, signage and environmental quality. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-27376-4. OCLC 1010680073.
  4. ^ Flad, Harvey K. (1997). "Country Clutter: Visual Pollution and the Rural Roadscape". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 553 (1): 117–129. doi:10.1177/0002716297553001011. ISSN 0002-7162. S2CID 60447315.
  5. ^ Chmielewski, Szymon (2020-12-12). "Chaos in Motion: Measuring Visual Pollution with Tangential View Landscape Metrics". Land. 9 (12): 515. doi:10.3390/land9120515. ISSN 2073-445X.
  6. ^ Da Silva, Marina. "Visual Pollution". designwithme.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  7. ^ Chmielewski, Szymon; Lee, Danbi J.; Tompalski, Piotr; Chmielewski, Tadeusz J.; Wężyk, Piotr (2016-04-02). "Measuring visual pollution by outdoor advertisements in an urban street using intervisibilty analysis and public surveys". International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 30 (4): 801–818. doi:10.1080/13658816.2015.1104316. ISSN 1365-8816. S2CID 425572.
  8. ^ a b c Yilmaz, Demet; Sagsoz, Ayse (28 April 2011). "In the Context of Visual Pollution: Effects to Trabzon City Center Silhoutte". Asian Social Science. 7 (5). doi:10.5539/ass.v7n5p98.
  9. ^ Wakil, Khydija; Naeem, Malik Asghar; Anjum, Ghulam Abbas; Waheed, Abdul; Thaheem, Muhammad Jamaluddin; Hussnain, Muhammad Qadeer ul; Nawaz, Raheel (January 2019). "A Hybrid Tool for Visual Pollution Assessment in Urban Environments". Sustainability. 11 (8): 2211. doi:10.3390/su11082211. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30123294.
  10. ^ Chmielewski, Szymon; Lee, Danbi J.; Tompalski, Piotr; Chmielewski, Tadeusz J.; Wężyk, Piotr (4 November 2015). "Measuring visual pollution by outdoor advertisements in an urban street using intervisibility analysis and public surveys". International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 30 (4): 801–818. doi:10.1080/13658816.2015.1104316. S2CID 425572.
  11. ^ Chmielewski, Szymon (November 2020). "Chaos in motion: Measuring Visual Pollution with Tangential View Landscape Metrics". Land. 9(12), 515 (12): 515. doi:10.3390/land9120515.
  12. ^ Nagle, John (1 January 2012). "Cell Phone Towers as Visual Pollution". Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. 23 (2): 537. SSRN 1463592.
  13. ^ Wibble, Tobias; Södergård, Ulrika; Träisk, Frank; Pansell, Tony (3 January 2020). "Intensified visual clutter induces increased sympathetic signalling, poorer postural control, and faster torsional eye movements during visual rotation". PLOS ONE. 15 (1): e0227370. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227370. PMC 6941927. PMID 31900468.