The narrative is that L.A. is a bad place to do business. . .but the truth is not only is Los Angeles huge on business, it’s also: *the largest manufacturing hub *with the most jobs *making the most things in the United States. Let’s get into it!

Ads on construction fences are exploding in LA, in part because they make a fuck load of money. I saw a rate card the other day for one intersection pulling in $112,000 a month. But unlike ads on City bus shelters, Angelenos get $0 from it. There are a million reasons a lot might sit vacant, and in a regulatory environment that makes it impossible to get a project permitted and approved, I understand why property owners look for ways to cover the costs and make their projects pencil. I don’t think we should ban this advertising. But if companies are making money advertising to people in the public streetscape, the public should benefit too. When ads run on City bus shelters and street furniture, some of the revenue comes back to the City and supports services. Construction-fence ads compete for the same advertisers, but residents get nothing. So let’s treat them similarly. Allow the ads, enforce the rules already on the books, require a revenue share, and put the money into things like fixing sidewalks and streetlights and paving streets.