Rediscovering Rivers in the Brazilian Megacity of San Paolo: Leveraging Water Sensitivity in the Urban Governance

Located on the edge of the Brazilian Atlantic Plateau, the city of San Paolo has its territory (1500 km2 with over 11.4 million inhabitants) predominantly drained by the Tietê River and its tributaries. From the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, the city experienced exponential growth, with environ-mentally impactful transformations such as radical interventions in the river system, a high rate of urban soil sealing, avenues implemented in valley bottoms, and disorderly territorial occupation—especially around water sources. This process led to a growing alienation of the population regarding urban life issues and a distancing from the systemic dimension of nature present in the urban environment. It is in this context that the project Rios e Ruas was created in 2010: a citizen initiative aimed at encouraging public engagement in the sustainable development of São Paulo by promoting a rediscovery of the water bodies that the city has made invisible as it developed. Rios e Ruas methodology is based on historical-cartographic research, field explorations, interaction, collaboration, and participatory interventions. This chapter, involving the two founding activists of the initiative in its writing, presents part of the practical results achieved by Rios e Ruas such as the drafting of two laws, a sticker intervention on street signals to reveal the presence of water under the urban fabric, and the creative and sensitive use of cartography in exhibitions as a way of inspiring care for water bodies. In particular, reflecting on how these experiences influenced the perception of citizens and politicians, the chapter highlights the importance of Rios e Ruas in motivating the citizen engagement in the protection of urban nature and in inspiring innovative initiatives for San Paolo and other Brazilian cities.