Visual Pollution of Outdoor Media in Denpasar as a City of Culture

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of visual pollution caused by outdoor media, which threatens the aesthetics and cultural values of Bali, as perceived by the majority of the community in Denpasar City. Employing a descriptive qualitative method, this study analyzes the forms, causal factors, and impacts of visual pollution on society and urban identity. The primary forms identified include cluttered visuals, pragmatic space exploitation, irregular spatial planning, and obsolete media. These are predominantly driven by economic gain, alongside power relations, weak law enforcement, socio-cultural factors, and the proliferation of campaign materials. Consequently, this pollution erodes local wisdom, weakens Denpasar's identity as a cultural city, disrupts traffic safety, reduces media communication effectiveness, and risks diminishing public trust in local governance. Theoretically, the findings demonstrate a process of societal normalization toward urban visual disorder, thereby offering valuable contributions to visual communication design studies and serving as a strategic reference for outdoor media policy formulation in Denpasar.