The The city reflected in the Corrente river

for an ecological approach in constructed floodplains of Santa Maria da Vitória, Bahia

Abstract

This article aims to understand how the transformations of Jardim Jacaré Square, located in the lowland areas of downtown Santa Maria da Vitória, Bahia, reflect the declining function of urban floodplains. It proposes its revaluation as ecological infrastructure based on Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) and a territorially sensitive urbanism that recognizes the continuities between city and countryside and values the knowledge and founding bonds of the municipality's traditional communities. In rural areas, such as the Fundo and Fecho de Pasto communities of Salobro-Jacurutu, ways of life based on the collective organization of the territory and the common use of land along watercourses reveal a different logic of occupation, guided by coexistence with the ecological cycles of land and water. The methodology combines a phenomenological approach and multi-scalar interpretation, articulating three procedures: documentary and iconographic survey of the square's transformations; digital modeling of urban morphological changes; and reading the landscape through walking as an experience capable of revealing everyday and symbolic dimensions of the city, made invisible by existing urban interventions. The results indicate the suppression of floodplains, the reduction of permanent preservation areas, the replacement of native vegetation with exotic species, and the intensification of floods with shorter return times. As a response, the adoption of NBS, such as Constructed Floodplain Treatment Systems and urban forests, is proposed, aiming to integrate urban drainage with wetland restoration and the buffering of urban water volumes.