Urban Visual Pollution from Outdoor Advertising: A Systematic Review of Environmental Exposure, Governance, and Sustainability Implications

Abstract

Outdoor advertising has become an increasingly prominent element of urban environments, influencing public perception, behavior, and environmental quality. In recent years, it has also begun to be recognized as a potential form of urban environmental pollution, particularly in relation to visual pollution and its effects on urban sustainability and public well-being. However, research trends and thematic developments in this field have not yet been comprehensively synthesized. This systematic review, therefore, examines outdoor advertising as an emerging form of visual and environmental pollution while identifying research trends and thematic developments in the existing literature. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Literature searches were performed in Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect for studies published between 2015 and 2025—the search strategy combined controlled vocabulary and keyword variations related to outdoor advertising. Two independent reviewers conducted study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Eligible studies were analyzed using thematic synthesis and bibliometric trend analysis. A total of 17 studies met the eligibility criteria. The findings indicate growing research interest in the impacts of outdoor advertising on public health, environmental perception, and regulatory governance. Most studies were conducted in urban environments and published in peer-reviewed journals across interdisciplinary fields. Over the past decade, research on outdoor advertising has expanded significantly, reflecting increasing concern regarding its environmental and societal implications. Future studies should adopt more standardized, interdisciplinary approaches to improve the quality of evidence and support sustainable urban environmental management.