# City-Friendly Digital Advertising The 'Google Urbanism' Project Would Share Ad Revenue with Cities By Joey Haar | Published 2016-08-18 | Business Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/google-urbanism References: [fastcoexist](http://www.fastcoexist.com/3062771/could-google-urbanism-help-fund-public-space-with-a-cut-of-online-ad-dollars) & [googleurbanism](http://googleurbanism.com/) '[Google](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/intellino-signamic) Urbanism' is a business model for digital advertising that, oddly enough, takes inspiration from the mining industry. In mining, companies take natural resources from the ground and sell them to make a profit, but these companies need to pay national governments in order to account for using the land. Google Urbanism theorizes that [digital ads in cities](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/outdoor-advertising-campaign) work in a similar way, with large companies (like Google) making revenue when advertisers pay for, say, a [digital billboard placement](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/largescale-digital-signage). According to Google Urbanism, part of the revenue should go to the cities that play the advertising, since cities' infrastructures are supporting the entire transaction. The model would support cities by providing an extra source of money, but could also help Google (and other tech companies) since more cities would be incentivized to do business with it. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.4/10 - Popularity: 23% | Activity: 71% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/business) > [New Ventures](https://www.trendhunter.com/newventures) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **City-friendly Digital Advertising:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Creating a business model where a portion of digital advertising revenue goes back to cities, incentivizing more cities to engage with tech companies. - **Google Urbanism:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Applying the concept of paying national governments for using natural resources to digital advertising, potentially revolutionizing the way ad revenues are distributed. - **Revenue Sharing with Cities:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Establishing a system where cities receive a share of the revenue generated by digital advertising, providing an additional source of funding for urban infrastructures. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Digital Advertising:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Developing a business model that transforms the way digital ads generate revenue and distribute profits. - **Mining:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Adapting the concept of paying national governments for resource extraction to other industries, such as digital advertising. - **Urban Infrastructure:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Creating innovative revenue-sharing models that support urban infrastructures while fostering partnerships between tech companies and cities. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Multifunctional City Lighting Infrastructure](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/urban-lighting-innovations.md) - [Urban Greening Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/urban-green.md) - [AI-Powered Digital Displays](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/intellino-signamic.md) - [Metaverse Billboard Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/admix.md) - [Metaverse Advertising Services](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nft-plazas.md) - [Urban Greening Infrastructure](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/greenpublic.md) - [In-Game Billboard Advertising](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/gameloft-for-brands.md) - [Ad-Supported Gaming Services](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/playmanity.md) - [AI-Assisted Business Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/50-states-50-stories.md)