Creating an inventory of outdoor advertising assets is an activity that every road authority should carry out. It is a good practice because it provides a clear overview of the number of billboards installed, their type, dimensions, ownership, and the revenue they generate.
- number of advertising panels installed;
- type;
- dimensions;
- ownership;
- income.
An outdoor advertising inventory is useful because it helps verify whether advertising rules are respected and whether there are cases of illegal occupation or tax evasion.
For example, on the Municipality of Naples website, under Impianti Pubblicitari, you can find the general plan for advertising installations together with the related technical and functional rules. That plan offers a clear summary of the legal framework, which includes the Highway Code, the implementing regulation, later corrective provisions, and the municipal rules governing advertising systems.
The same framework is useful for determining the quantity and type of advertising asset to record. Even if no specific standard tells us exactly how to store, display, and distribute this kind of inventory, GIS remain an obvious support because they make the inventory readable, queryable, and spatially verifiable.
The examples below are purely illustrative and show the kind of cartographic support that can help structure this type of inventory.
