Poznań's streets have been gradually changing as the city enforces its Landscape Act, with hundreds of advertising boards and other unauthorised displays removed during the first half of 2026.
The latest figures from the City of Poznań show that the work is continuing on a substantial scale. Since the beginning of the year, over 600 advertising boards or devices were dismantled following proceedings concerning displays that did not comply with the city's rules.
The campaign has been particularly visible on ul. Półwiejska, one of the best-known pedestrian streets in central Poznań. A focused operation there has removed almost 160 advertising displays, leaving shopfronts and the street's architecture more visible.
For people who regularly walk through the city centre, the difference is increasingly noticeable.
A busy street gets a visual clear-out
Półwiejska is one of Poznań's busiest shopping streets, connecting the area around Stary Browar with the heart of the city centre. Its shopfronts, historic buildings and pedestrian space have long competed for attention with a dense collection of signs, boards and other forms of advertising.
As part of the city's "Akcja Półwiejska", officials inspected advertising displays along the street and contacted almost 120 businesses and other operators whose signs required changes or removal.
The response was largely cooperative. Most businesses worked with the city's Oddział Uchwały Krajobrazowej (Landscape Act Branch) of the Urbanisation and Architecture Department to bring their displays into line with the regulations.
The result is not a street without advertising. Instead, the intention is to make commercial signs work better within the street rather than dominate it.
That distinction is important for a city centre where independent shops, restaurants and services rely on being visible to customers, while the buildings and public spaces themselves form an important part of Poznań's character.
Hundreds of removals across Poznań
Półwiejska is only one part of a wider city-wide enforcement programme.
During the first six months of 2026, the city’s Urbanisation and Architecture Department conducted 455 proceedings concerning advertising boards and devices that did not comply with the regulations. Of those cases, 216 followed reports submitted by residents through the Smart City Poznań application.
In 143 cases, no further enforcement was necessary because businesses or property owners removed the advertising themselves after being notified that the city had taken up the matter.
The city also issued 298 opinions on whether planned advertising would comply with the Landscape Resolution. This preventative part of the process is intended to help businesses avoid investing in signs that would subsequently have to be altered or removed.
There were 57 proceedings resulting in financial penalties, with the total value of fines in the first half of 2026 reaching 3,352,622 zł.
According to data from badam.poznan.pl more than 600 advertising displays had been dismantled across Poznań since the beginning of the year, alongside more than 350 opinions on compliance. The figures refer to different reporting points and categories of activity, so they should not be treated as a single combined total.
What the Landscape Resolution changes
Poznań's Landscape Resolution sets rules for advertising, business signs, small architecture and other elements that affect the appearance of the city's public spaces.
For businesses, one of the most visible aspects concerns szyldy, or signs identifying a business operating at a particular location.
The rules address matters including:
the size and positioning of business signs;
how signs relate to a building's façade;
the number of signs that can be used at a premises;
materials and overall appearance;
illuminated advertising;
the use of strong or flashing lighting.
The underlying approach is to prevent individual signs from overwhelming the building or street around them.
For a city such as Poznań, that has practical implications beyond aesthetics. Streets such as Półwiejska are commercial destinations, but they are also part of the city's architectural and cultural landscape.
Help is available before a new sign goes up
The city is also putting considerable emphasis on helping businesses understand the rules before they spend money on new signage.
Poznań provides a free online search tool that allows businesses and property owners to check the Landscape Act requirements for a particular address. The city also publishes the "Szyldownik", an illustrated guide covering recommended dimensions, materials, composition and good practice for business signs and advertising.
Businesses can also request a free opinion from the city before ordering or installing an advertising display.
This can be especially useful for smaller businesses. Getting advice before commissioning a sign is much simpler than discovering later that it must be redesigned or removed.
The city's Landscape Act information and resources are available through poznan.pl/krajobrazowa.
Residents are part of the process
The involvement of residents is another notable element of the programme.
Of the 455 proceedings opened during the first half of 2026, 216 originated from reports submitted through Smart City Poznań. That means residents are not simply observing changes in their neighbourhoods. They can also draw the city's attention to advertising that may require inspection.
Enforcement is being carried out jointly by the Plastyk Miejski (Municipal Artist), Urbanisation and Architecture Department, City Roads Authority, and City Guard, depending on the circumstances of each case.
The work also extends beyond individual signs and enforcement visits. In May, the city worked with Adam Mickiewicz University and Politechnika Poznańska on a two-day national conference examining small architecture, fencing and advertising from both design and legal perspectives.
That combination of enforcement, advice and professional discussion points towards a longer-term change in how Poznań manages its streets.
See more: Poznań in Contrasts: FotoPortal Opens September Photo Competition
Source and image credit: poznan.pl
