The study discusses the question of public sphere versus private sphere, starting from the course followed by the Companhia de Renovação Urbana de Salvador (Renurb), a municipal public enterprise, established in 1980 and liquidated in 1991. There is an analysis of the enterprise's external relationships and also of the way in which were mediated its interests with the private sector, as well as of some relevant aspects of its organizational culture's symbolic dimension. Renurb's case is used as an illustration of the complexity inherent in public organizations, particularly if they are public enterprises, in an effort to contributing to the present debate on ethical limits between public and private spaces, considering the role played by public enterprises in the Brazilian context.Discussão sobre a temática esfera pública versus esfera privada. O caso da Companhia de Renovação Urbana de Salvador (Renurb). Contribuição para o atual debate sobre limites éticos entre os espaços público e privado.