I'm amazed that a city the size of São Paulo was able to manage this; the ordeal must have resulted in quite a few headaches! It's interesting to see cities that carry such an intense dependency on advertising try to deal with the problem, who can say when it all becomes too much? I'm reminded of Venturi's "Learning from Las Vegas", it seems that in certain urban areas, signage becomes civic identity rather than pollution (Vegas, New York, Tokyo?) I wonder if a city can remain commercially successful in the long term without them, or what method of advertisement will eventually take its place. It will be interesting to keep an eye on!

Thanks for the response, Jenny. Agreed, even though it is 30 yrs old, designers should take some time to read Learning from Las Vegas. Maybe also some Jane Jacobs or Richard Sennett's provocative book: The Uses of Disorder. Celebrating the mixture and melange, collision and cacophony that urban communities provide.