With the "Clean City" legislation, the government of the Brazilian megalopolis of 11 million (the most populous city in the Southern Hemisphere) aims for a cultural overhaul:

…This city…overwhelmed by what the authorities call visual pollution, plans to press the "delete all" button and offer its residents unimpeded views of their surroundings.

But in proposing to transform the landscape, officials have unleashed debate and brought into conflict sharply differing concepts of what this city, South America’s largest and most prosperous, should be. City planners, architects and environmental advocates have argued enthusiastically that the prohibition, through a new "clean city" law, brings SA£o Paulo a welcome step closer to an imagined urban ideal.

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