Scenic America

Scenic America
Name	Scenic America
Formation	1978
Type	Nonprofit organization
Purpose	Advocacy for scenic preservation, anti-billboard campaigns, landscape protection
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States
Leader title	President
Leader name	(varies)
Website	(omitted)

Scenic America Scenic America is a United States nonprofit advocacy organization focused on preserving and enhancing the visual character of American communities and landscapes. Founded in the late 20th century, the organization has worked alongside a range of civic, environmental, transportation, and cultural institutions to oppose billboards, promote streetscape design, and influence federal and state policy. It has engaged with municipal governments, preservation groups, and community coalitions to protect rights-of-way, parklands, and historic vistas.

History

Scenic America was established during a period of heightened activism that included the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and campaigns by the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and local preservation societies. Early allies included the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Planning Association, and the League of Women Voters, while contemporaneous debates involved the Interstate Highway System, the expansion of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, and municipal zoning reforms in cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The organization grew through collaborations with regional entities like the Preservation League of New York State and national efforts such as the Bicentennial urban renewal critiques. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s it intersected with campaigns led by the Trust for Public Land, the Nature Conservancy, and the Urban Land Institute to promote scenic easements, vista protection, and design guidelines. Legislative interactions featured engagements with members of the United States Congress, committees tied to transportation policy, and federal agencies including the Federal Highway Administration and the National Park Service.

Mission and Activities

The mission emphasizes visual resource protection, countryside preservation, and enhancement of urban corridors, aligning Scenic America with organizations like the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation on design and planning principles. Activities range from public education partnerships with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, outreach with the American Institute of Architects, and collaborations with municipal planning departments in places like Portland, Oregon, Seattle, and Boston. The organization has mounted campaigns drawing on legal tools found in acts like the Highway Beautification Act and has engaged experts from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and university research centers such as those at Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley for impact assessments. It frequently convenes coalitions with heritage groups including Historic New England and environmental nonprofits like Earthjustice.

Programs and Campaigns

Scenic America has run programs addressing billboard removal, scenic byway designation, streetscape improvement, and community-driven planning, often in partnership with state departments of transportation such as Caltrans and Pennsylvania's PennDOT. Campaigns have included efforts to support the National Scenic Byways Program, promote vista protection at sites like the Blue Ridge Parkway and Natchez Trace Parkway, and protect waterfront views in cities including San Francisco and Charleston, South Carolina. Its anti-billboard work has intersected with advertising controversies involving corporations represented by trade groups like the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and with litigation in courts including the United States Supreme Court, where free speech and signage regulations have been contested. Other initiatives involve collaborations with festivals and cultural institutions such as the Cooper Hewitt, local chambers of commerce, and Main Street programs sponsored by the National Trust Main Street Center.

Policy and Advocacy

Policy advocacy has targeted federal statutes, regulatory frameworks, and local ordinances with engagement in debates around the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, implementation by the Federal Highway Administration, and complementary state laws in places like California, Texas, and New Jersey. Scenic America has submitted comments during rulemakings, lobbied members of the United States Congress, and provided testimony before committees with jurisdiction over transportation, natural resources, and urban affairs. The organization has also worked with state legislatures, municipal councils such as in Philadelphia and Denver, and regional planning agencies like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) and the Metropolitan Council (Minnesota). It partners with civil society actors including Public Citizen and the League of Conservation Voters on campaigns linking visual quality to quality-of-life metrics.

Organizational Structure and Funding

Scenic America operates as a nonprofit corporation with a board of directors often drawn from the fields represented by allied organizations such as the American Planning Association, the American Institute of Architects, and university land-use programs at institutions like Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania. Staff have included policy directors, legal counsel, and communications specialists who liaise with municipal planners in localities like Alexandria, Virginia and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Funding derives from foundation grants, membership contributions, and donations; foundations that have historically supported landscape and preservation causes include the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, and the Ford Foundation. The group has also received programmatic support from environmental grantmakers like the Packard Foundation and project-specific grants connected to initiatives by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Impact and Criticism

Scenic America’s work has contributed to billboard removal projects, adoption of view-shed protections, and designation of scenic byways, with measurable changes documented in partnership studies from universities and agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration and state departments of transportation. Supporters cite collaborations with preservation entities including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and environmental groups like the Sierra Club as evidence of positive outcomes for tourism economies in regions such as the Shenandoah Valley and the Hudson River Valley. Critics, including representatives of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and some business improvement districts, argue that signage restrictions can conflict with First Amendment principles and commercial interests; legal disputes have at times reached federal courts including appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Other critiques come from development advocates and some municipal officials in rapidly growing metros like Houston and Phoenix who contend that scenic restrictions may impede economic development or property rights, leading to ongoing debates with planning bodies and elected officials.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.