Posters and outdoor advertisement billboards provide avenues for marketing of goods and services generally. In spite of the fact that they contribute towards providing information about the availability of goods and/or services, adequate attention has not been paid by the concerned bodies/authorities in the siting of the posters and billboards in order to mitigate the negative implications on the human environment. It is against this backdrop that this paper focused on assessing the impact of outdoor advertisement posters and billboards in Nigerian urban environment. Data for the study were obtained through personal observation, and also from the Cross River State Signage and Advertisement Agency (CRISSA). It was observed that the display of posters and billboards in the urban environment has implications on the environment, resulting in visual distortion, information overload, destruction of a sense of place, negative effect on traffic flow and safety and devaluation of property value and urban decay among others. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that the installation of outdoor advertisement boards should be treated as part of the landscape planning proposals of the urban areas. Also, the use of banners, posters and billboards by politicians, educationists, churches, entertainment industries etc. should immediately be removed as soon as their intentions are fulfilled.

Keywords : Advertisement Posters, Advertisement Billboards, Urban Environment, Visual Distortion, Traffic Flow, Urban Decay