Water and City Relationship: The Experience of the Sustainable Drainage and Urban Rivers Revitalization Program for the Tietê-Jacaré Watershed

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between human occupation and environmental systems is essential in the context of climate change. In Brazil, the Sustainable Drainage and Urban Rivers Revitalization Program (PDSRR, 2022–2025) in the Tietê-Jacaré Watershed (São Paulo) promotes a methodological shift in the river-city relationship. This paper analyses the conceptual and methodological structure of the PDSRR, adopting an analytical and descriptive approach and focusing on how landscape reading, urban form analysis, and sustainable urban drainage principles were articulated at the watershed and municipal scales. Traditional drainage models, focused on rapid stormwater conveyance through grey infrastructure, have increased flood vulnerability and degraded ecological functions. Operating across thirty-four municipalities, the PDSRR integrated watershed-scale landscape assessment, morphology analyses, cartographic studies, and fieldwork. The analysis presented in this paper is based on the interpretation and synthesis of cartographic outputs, field observations, and comparative readings of selected micro-catchments, rather than on post-implementation hydraulic performance evaluation. In each municipality, one microcatchment was selected as a pilot area for landscape reading and design based on sustainable drainage principles and urban reconfiguration. The strategies discussed aim to promote river renaturalization, blue-green infrastructure connectivity, and multifunctional public open spaces supporting recreation, health, and social interaction. The Program also included educational initiatives for local staff and managers, fostering context-sensitive, ecologically integrated urban water management solutions. Overall, the PDSRR is discussed as an innovative and potentially replicable framework that integrates infrastructure, landscape, and culture, offering a pathway for cities to become more resilient, adaptive, and aligned with their ecological landscapes in the face of climate change.