Think of digital signage in an urban streetscape, and you probably picture something like Times Square or Las Vegas. The unique attractions of those places notwithstanding, few municipalities are looking to replicate that aesthetic. In most urban downtowns, big, bright signs with moving images have faced very tight restrictions, if not outright banishment.
But a different response has started to emerge over the years, and especially recently, in cities from Denver to Atlanta, San Antonio to San Jose. The evolution of digital signage technology, combined with some adventurous thinking and experimentation, has led to the development of “media districts” designed to breathe life into existing neighborhoods in urban downtowns and beyond.
Denver has been a notable pioneer. Two decades ago there was, by legislative design, no digital signage downtown. As an advertising medium, such signs were seen as little more than extra-garish billboards, benefitting only their outdoor-media company owners and private landlords. But at the same time, the city was trying to figure out how to bring more activity—and actual light—to downtown streets around its performing arts complex and convention center, an area that tended toward unwelcoming darkness after nightfall. It was tough for restaurants and other businesses to draw customers, and the area lacked “a sense of place,” says David Ehrlich, who is now the executive director of the Denver Theatre District, and back then was a consultant with sports and entertainment businesses on venue projects.
Asked to work with the city on ideas for enlivening the district, Ehrlich was inspired by an old photograph of the same area in the late 19th century, lit up by then-newfangled light bulbs and dubbed “the brightest street in America” by Thomas Edison. “Literally in the picture you could see a bunch of people on the street,” Ehrlich says. “I thought, you know, let’s do a back-to-the-future thing. Let’s take modern media to serve that purpose of creating a sense of place, a sense of safety.”
Today there are 17 digital signs of varying size installed in a 16-square-block area (along with 29 static, non-digital billboard-style signs that have gone up since the city implemented new regulations). Participating media companies that own the signs distribute 15 percent of their revenue — which generally works out to more than $1 million a year — to the nonprofit, nongovernmental Denver Theatre District, which funds various events and arts projects in the area. Some of these projects take place on the signs themselves: the companies are also required to turn over 20 percent of the screens’ time to the DTD for arts and cultural organizations, which can either promote their events or present their own programming. DTD also produces events and attractions like Night Lights Denver, an ongoing outdoor art installation involving light projection on certain buildings in the district; a “15-second video festival,” presenting short films made by artists on downtown LED screens; and other digital work by local, national, and international artists.
Officials in Denver created a DTD sign plan as a supplementary document to the city code, originally involving a potential for 10 signs that were strictly banned elsewhere downtown. The plan put in place some general design parameters, explains Matthew Bossler, a senior city planner for Denver. These include, for example, a limitation on the luminosity of 25 lumens, and a specification that signs be located above the ground floor]. “There’s a kind of flexibility granted in exchange for higher design standards,” Bossler adds. “It also describes where on each building facade different types of signs can occur and some additional requirements such as how to avoid residential impacts.”
Given the initial permit application process (and the aftermath of the financial crisis), the first few signs went up gradually, over a period of four or five years. The technology underpinning digital signage, which had already evolved toward LED lighting, continues to improve. “You’re looking at a technology that has changed substantially in the last 15 years,” says James Carpentier, director of state and local government affairs for the International Sign Association (ISA), a trade organization. In addition to allowing for adjustable brightness and automatic dimming, it’s now much easier to configure “hold time,” to address concerns about quickly rotating ad messages potentially distracting drivers. (A typical digital sign, or “electronic message center” in most cities is 100 square feet, compared to an average of 7,000 square feet in Las Vegas, according to the ISA.)
On a more aesthetic level, modern LED signs offer much higher resolution and better color, can automatically adjust to changing light conditions, and consume less power than earlier technologies. Modular LED panels allow for varied design options, including curved screens – like the 25-by-60-foot sign-and-screen cluster at the intersection of 14th and Champa streets on the parking garage of the Colorado Convention Center. And they’re easier to coordinate, so that programming can run in sync on multiple screens.
Ehrlich now works with other cities, including Atlanta and San Antonio, through the Urban Activation Institute. While specific implementations vary, the basic blueprint is similar: Media companies get leeway to deploy signs under certain conditions, providing a steady revenue stream for local arts or other initiatives. Previously undervalued areas get a boost, ideally helping restaurants and other businesses. Proponents also say the additional light can help promote public safety. And local government spends nothing.
Opponents counter that the signs are too bright, potentially unsafe, or compromise the authenticity and character of cityscapes. “Imagine a digital advertising dystopia,” wrote one electronic signage foe in response to San Jose’s consideration of trying its own version of Denver’s experiment. Others contend that the tie-in to arts funding is a slick trick by advertisers to gain the support of resource-strapped policy makers. Planners, meanwhile, have had to consider how to regulate the technology, developing guidelines based on size, location, and other factors.
Even in Denver, the district is a work in progress, but one that seems to have at least some fans. Bossler, the planner, is currently managing two rezoning cases involving properties that are immediately adjacent to the DTD, whose owners are seeking to be rezoned in order to get into the district, specifically aiming for approval for large-format sign installations.
“The theater district is one that we can generally describe as being a unique sub area within downtown that draws many visitors,” Bossler says. “And the special allowances for signs can contribute to that. The electronic billboards that are allowed in the district bring light, color, and dynamism to some of the most frequented areas of downtown, particularly those that are connected to our major theaters. This creates kind of a special ambiance and liveliness in the streets and public places within the district.” It encourages walking and presents a vibrant image, he adds, drawing more people to the district’s businesses—and that kind of economic impact is a positive sign.
Rob Walker is the author of City Tech: 20 Apps, Ideas, and Innovators Changing the Urban Landscape and The Art of Noticing. More of his writing can be found at robwalker.substack.com.
Lead image: A moment from the Supernova digital animation festival organized by Denver Digerati, visible on a digital billboard at 14th and Champa streets in downtown Denver. Credit: Denver Digerati.