Latest news with #visualpollution
New York Times
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
New Rules Could End the Beautiful Chaos of Rio's Beaches
Visuals by Dado Galdieri and Jack Nicas Text by Jack Nicas On the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, just about anything you need will come to sand has long been an open-air, democratic come down from poor, hillside neighborhoods to sell chairs and umbrellas, grilled meat and beer, soccer balls and swimsuits. The vendors — with their colorful outfits and creative calls for attention — have become part of the Rio beach flow can be incessant, but they are part of the show. Now that may be changing. Rio's mayor has issued a decree to regulate the city's 30 miles of coastline, including rules on vendors, music and the beach's aesthetic. Many residents fear that will change Rio's beach culture as they know it. Up and down Rio's coast, 600 'barracas,' tarp-and-pole beach stalls, rent chairs and umbrellas and sell coconuts and caipirinhas, Brazil's national structures are erected every morning and disassembled every night. The barracas have long added colorful flair to the coastline, with creative advertisements and distinctive flags. But under the new rules, which went into effect this month, the barracas must remove all flags and use standardized black-and-white signs, with the same font and size. The result is a lifeless, monotone aesthetic — the opposite of the vibrant, diverse scene that Rio's beaches are known for. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, said the move was meant to prevent 'visual pollution' that was 'turning Rio de Janeiro's greatest asset and greatest landscape into a real mess.'City leaders say the black-and-white design might be temporary if officials can agree on an alternative. Few beachgoers like it. The decree also requires beach vendors to obtain licenses, something few have, and prohibits any items used to prepare food, including gas canisters, charcoal, wooden skewers and styrofoam means an effective ban on some of Rio's most famous beach foods: boiled corn, skewered shrimp and barbecued meat and cheese. Some vendors have already been fined, and others have been scared off by the new rules. But enforcement has been mixed. Vendors said the work represented one of their only options to make a living. Many said they could make $10 to $100 a day, depending on the weather. Eduardo Cavaliere, Rio's vice mayor, said in an interview that the rules were necessary to impose some order to a sometimes chaotic he said the city would seek ways to keep many vendors on the beach. The city has tried similar rules in years past. Mr. Paes once threatened to bar sellers of maté, or iced tea, who carry metal tanks of the drink around their necks. The mayor backed off after a backlash. Instead, he made maté sellers some of the only licensed vendors on the beach.
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Randwick Council votes to consider ban on election corflutes on power poles
A local Sydney council has voted to consider a total ban on election corflutes on all public infrastructure, citing 'visual pollution' and a perceived 'impost on campaigns' for the move. Randwick Council voted 9-5 on Tuesday night to pass a motion from Greens councillor Masmoomeh Asgari for council staff to report on reducing election waste material and banning corflutes on council property, including parking poles. 'In the past three years we have had two federal elections, a state election and a local government election and in each case large amounts of waste have been produced in the form of corflutes and paper (how-to-votes and flyers) in order to inform voters about candidates, their policies and how they should vote,' the motion states. 'Corflute waste is a particular issue in Randwick. Ausgrid have banned them on telegraph poles, so the main display structures are council's parking poles and the like. 'This annoys residents due to the visual pollution, the inconvenience of placement and the litter, including from plastic ties. 'Informing voters is essential in a democracy but it's time to investigate how this can be done with less waste.' The potential ban follows a burst of corflute controversy in the May 3 federal election, including furious debate over where exactly corflutes are permitted. Footage of federal independent MP Monique Ryan's husband Peter Jordan pulling down a corflute of Liberal challenger Amelia Hamer went viral on social media during the heated Kooyong contest in Melbourne. The footage shows Mr Jordan walking away with the Hamer placard, with a Liberal Party supporter pursuing him. Mr Jordan claims the sign had been illegally placed on public land. 'I'm taking the sign down … it's on public land … I'm not saying who I am,' Mr Jordan says in the video. Responding to the kerfuffle, the Australian Electoral Commission said it did not regulate the placement of political signage. 'Signage on public land is generally a matter for local council,' the AEC said. Later, Mr Jordan apologised for the blow up. 'I unreservedly apologise for removing the sign. It was a mistake,' he said. 'I believed the sign was illegally placed, but I should have reported my concerns to council.' South Australia, meanwhile, has banned corflutes from public roads, trees and poles in state and federal elections. Randwick, which takes in Sydney's eastern beach suburbs, sits within the federal electorates of Wentworth and Kingsford Smith. Liberal councillor Christie Hamilton voted against the motion on Tuesday night, telling NewsWire candidate posters served an important democratic function. 'I don't think we should ban them everywhere,' she said. 'They trigger for people that there is an election coming. It is up to the parties and candidates to do all they can do to put their candidates out there and it needs to be visual. 'It can't just be words on a page, they need to see who the person is. And if they see them on the street, they can come up and talk to them. 'It's part of the democratic process.' Ms Hamilton said Ms Asgari's motion had come about because of Greens anger over their corflutes being taken down during campaigns. 'Everyone gets their corflutes taken down,' she said. '(Liberal Wentworth candidate) Ro Knox had her corflutes taken down. There's nothing you can do about it. 'She (Ro Knox) put up funny stickers saying, 'please don't steal my corflutes'. You try to combat it with a bit of humour.' A report on the motion is expected within six months and Ms Hamilton said that vote on the report's recommendation would be the crucial one to watch for. 'When it comes back with the recommendation, that's when the real fight will start,' she said. 'I don't think Labor (councillors) will do it.'
