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Abstract

This thesis aims to apprehend the patterns of urban mobility typical to young dwellers of suburb districts from Salvador - Bahia. Through the construction of a "multifocal" ethnography, we followed their movements alongside them, among their experiences concerning occupation and appropriation of urban spaces. For that purpose, we started from points of interest of the city's Atlantic coast, more specifically, those located in districts such as Barra, Rio Vermelho and Itapuã. The ethnography's construction demanded an effort of recovery regarding population composition of each of these city regions, contributing to the understanding that we speak of coastS, as in urban spaces by the sea that possess historical and social characteristics which affect their dynamics of use, as well as the juvenile uses. This analysis standpoint revealed that the ways of interaction within the coastS are permeated by territorial disputes. In most cases, the leisure practices, even though not informed by organized political actions, were intertwined to social differences of gender and race. These realities impose them a lifelong of contemplating and facing, at all times, the uneven conditions of existence in this city. Wherever the youth dared to explore, its relationships were soaked in resistance, be it a bullying scenario between friends or mere exchanges with cops, vendors and young people from other social classes. Also, the way the youth moves across the researched coastal spaces prompted us to refresh our notion of juvenile groups and analyze their spatial territorialization, considering the types of juvenile gathering. The particularities found in each "coast" pointed to specific relational arrangements, that being said, when we speak of "flexible gatherings", we refer to juvenile practices that occur in a more temporary, itinerant manner, whilst marked by a greater diversity of people; on the other hand, when we speak of "customary gatherings", we refer to routine associations defined by intimate ties and conflict issues. Both types of groupings are characterized by the fluidity of juvenile arrangements; there is no restriction or internal rule that turns them into an inaccessible faction.