#digital-billboards

#digital-billboards

It all started with billboards. Inglewood approved the placement of digital advertising signs in and around SoFi Stadium, and Kroenke's companies pushed back hard but ended up losing in court. After losing that round, the dispute escalated significantly, with Kroenke now claiming the city owes nearly $400 million for money his group spent on roads, sewer systems, infrastructure upgrades, and ongoing police and fire protection tied to the stadium and surrounding development.

"I wanted a visual of it," she says, speaking from her bedroom in San Mateo. "Because it's hard to grasp how much there actually is when it's just digital."

Their question has reignited a larger conversation about "ad creep," which is the steady infiltration of advertising into every corner of public life. With this phenomenon heightened by new forms of media, seldom can a resident now go a day without seeing advertisements compelling them to consume. As advertisements have grown, endless consumption that boosts pollution has come with them, according to Earth.org.

Light pollution, energy use, and street safety are just the surface-level problems. These trucks are part of a bigger system - one that tells us to always want more, even when our planet can't keep up.