This article tries to answer the challenge of constructing an etnographic of a city. Its goal is to identify the representations, negotiations and conflicts concerning Oscar Niemeyer's project in Niterói City (RJ) which has failed until now, in its intention to insert Niterói into a progressive era. His works haven't been concluded in spite of his project is a ten year old one. Although the project is centered on an specific area, its results reach the city as hole and it would be important not to miss neither the sense of totality nor the specific urban context. This article focus on some factors that definitely contributes to the understanding of the context where the phenomenon take place: the citizen's favorite self-image; the relation between the city and the metropolis (Rio de Janeiro); and its political scenario, focusing on the personality of its political leader, the major Jorge Roberto Silveira.
cultural policy; Niemeyer's projects; urban image; urban intervention
