An article that caught our attention last month was this piece in the Teen section of the Folha de Sao Paulo. Entitled ‘Os Urbanoides’, it appears that somebody has unearthed a tribe of young Paolistas who belive it or not prefer the pleasures of the cosmopolitan lifestyle: cars, shopping malls, pollution and the cold to the stereotypical Brazil of the beach, the countryside and walking barefooted in the sand. Indeed much of the report seemed to focus on this highly contentious debate about the politics of sandal wearing amongst a few upper middle class teens. Important as it is there are some bigger issues that spring to mind: those of urban regeneration, the cultural importance of shopping malls and belated commercial and state attempts to re-appropriate ‘downtown’ in the wake of rising urban violence. That said we’re always happy to encounter the young tribes of Brasil and will keep you posted when we find some more…