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This article presents the results of a research project on young people and their cultural and leisure practices, and their networks of sociability and exchange (including conflictual relations) in the urban context of São Paulo city. After introducing and discussing the terms 'urban tribes and youth culture,' I propose another term, 'youth circuits,' as an alternative approach to the theme. Instead of emphasizing the fact that they are young - thereby supposedly linking a wide range of different manifestations to a common denominator - the idea is to highlight their insertion in the urban scenario through an ethnography of the spaces where they circulate and meet, the occasions where conflict erupts, and the partners with whom they establish exchange relationships. By adopting this approach, I intend to connect two elements that are present in this dynamic: firstly, behaviours; and secondly, the urban spaces, institutions and installations. The idea is to call attention to (1) sociability, rather than consumption and styles of expression linked to the generational issue; (2) to permanence and regularity, rather than fragmentation and nomadism.