Participatory mapping as a form of collective mobilization for hydrological disaster emergencies

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a technical and community map in the Vila Sônia neighborhood (Itaquaquecetuba – São Paulo), a peripheral area vulnerable to hydrological disasters, aiming to identify safe and accessible routes from the perspective of the local population. A participatory mapping methodology was employed in a workshop involving residents, public authorities, and researchers, utilizing the Community Resilience Web, Spoken Map, and Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins methods. The results revealed critical routes, safe locations, and infrastructure needs, such as a bridge to connect to the road network and improvements in drainage, sanitation, and lighting. The conclusion is that participatory mapping strengthens collective bonds, generates technical and community knowledge, and supports public policies tailored to the local reality, reinforcing forms of collective action produced in the periphery.

Keywords
participatory mapping; disaster risk management; integrated urban planning; hydrological disasters

Resumo

A pesquisa teve como objetivo a elaboração de um mapa técnico-comunitário no bairro Vila Sônia, em Itaquaquecetuba (SP) – área periférica e vulnerável a desastres hidrológicos –, buscando identificar caminhos seguros e acessíveis pela perspectiva da população local. Foi usada uma metodologia participativa de cartografia em oficina com moradores, poder público e pesquisadores, empregando os métodos Teia da Resiliência Comunitária, Mapa Falado e Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins. Os resultados revelaram rotas críticas, locais seguros e demandas infraestruturais, como uma ponte para conectividade com a malha viária e melhorias em drenagem, saneamento e iluminação. Conclui-se que a cartografia participativa fortalece vínculos coletivos, gera conhecimento técnico-comunitário e subsidia políticas públicas adaptadas à realidade local, fortalecendo as formas de ação coletiva produzidas na periferia.

Palavras-chave
cartografia participativa; gestão de riscos e desastres; planejamento urbano integrado; desastres hidrológicos

Introduction

The expanded concept of health understands well-being as a complex, multidimensional phenomenon that goes beyond the mere absence of disease, encompassing socioeconomic, environmental, housing, cultural, and psychological determinants. This holistic perspective values community participation and the integration of diverse forms of knowledge, recognizing that the autonomy and lived context of populations are central to health promotion (Brasil, 1986, p. 16). When applied to urban planning, this expanded concept of health reinforces the need for intersectoral policies that integrate housing, sanitation, mobility, security, and environmental quality – essential dimensions both for mitigating disaster risks and for strengthening climate resilience in peripheral urban contexts marked by historical vulnerabilities.

Disasters triggered by hydrological and climatic phenomena, such as floods and waterlogging, negatively affect public and environmental health by exposing populations to contaminated water and facilitating the spread of vector-borne and waterborne zoonoses such as leptospirosis, dengue, and yellow fever. Beyond physical illness, extreme weather events also affect mental health, increasing stress, anxiety, and depression (Londe et al., 2018). Environmentally, these events alter vector cycles and intensify sanitary risks, especially in vulnerable communities.

In the municipality of Itaquaquecetuba, located in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region, the Vila Sônia community constitutes an emblematic case. Between 2019 and 2025, the neighborhood experienced annual episodes of waterlogging and gradual flooding, especially from December to March. Between 2019 and 2024, Itaquaquecetuba recorded 28 cases of leptospirosis, according to Datasus data (Brasil, 2024). Although the most recent data available through Datasus¹ do not include 2025, residents of Vila Sônia reported one death from leptospirosis in the neighborhood as a result of the hydrological disaster of February 2025. During that event, streets and several homes remained submerged for 23 days, with water levels reaching nearly one meter, approximately 0.90 m.

A disaster emerges when, due to multiple factors, a community affected by a hazardous event is unable to adjust its rhythms and reorganize its processes in an agile and flexible way in response to abrupt environmental changes (Wilches-Chaux, 1993). In this sense, the complete inaccessibility of vital infrastructure caused by floodwaters blocking thoroughfares during waterlogging episodes in Vila Sônia constitutes a clear disaster scenario.

Considering the systematic impact of floods and waterlogging in this territory, this research aimed to map the preferred and accessible evacuation routes for the population exposed to hydrological risk in the Vila Sônia neighborhood, in Itaquaquecetuba (SP). Broadly, the study seeks to expand social protection by adopting a more anticipatory stance rooted in participatory governance – an approach that is especially necessary given emerging environmental and climate challenges. To this end, a participatory methodology was adopted to understand and map risks, vulnerabilities, and adaptive capacities directly from the perspective of those who experience these situations.

This proposal is aligned with demands for improved management of socio-natural disaster risks, aiming to reduce public and environmental health impacts caused by flooding and waterlogging. By prioritizing the knowledge of those who live with these risks, the study seeks not only to inform public policies that are more effective and territorially grounded, but also to recognize and reinforce the forms of collective action produced in the periphery – the periphery of the economic system, the city, and scientific production. Thus, it is crucial to emphasize the relevance of initiatives and research that involve local populations in developing tools to claim rights, express territorialization processes, and assert identities.

In this regard, the articulation between urban planning and disaster risk management (DRM) must be understood as a situated political practice. It is not limited to technical or institutional dimensions but also emerges from forms of collective action produced within territories – especially those marked by spatial segregation and social vulnerabilities. These forms of action, grounded in solidarity networks and community self-management, reveal how subjects located on the periphery of decision-making processes construct coping strategies in the face of disasters.

This research was developed within the scope of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (PMRR) of Itaquaquecetuba, elaborated by the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) in partnership with the National Secretariat of Peripheries of the Ministry of Cities, the Municipal Government, and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). By articulating citizen science, public management, and community practices, this investigation contributes to the debate on the political potential of urban peripheries, demonstrating how collective action becomes a central element in the struggle for the right to the city, socio-environmental justice, and the construction of autonomous responses to socio-natural disasters.

Relevance of the study area

Vila Sônia is one of the neighborhoods mapped as a high-risk area for floods and waterlogging in both the 2018 and 2025 Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Plans (PMRR). The locality includes areas where floodwater has reached heights of 1.5 meters. During these events, streets remain flooded for prolonged periods, ranging from days to months, impeding or severely hindering residents’ mobility and access to urban services and basic subsistence items, particularly during extreme weather episodes, leaving some individuals completely stranded in their homes.

The study area lies along the banks of the Tietê River, displaying a complex dynamic of social and environmental vulnerability. It has a significant concentration of children, older adults, and female-headed households, as well as a high proportion of Black and non-literate individuals, according to data from the National Census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2022). These factors indicate a context of acute economic and social fragility in which residents face systemic barriers to accessing basic services.

Figure 1
– Aerial drone photograph of the Vila Sônia neighborhood, Itaquaquecetuba (SP)

This locality has a long history of recurring gradual flooding and waterlogging episodes. In addition, there are major deficiencies in urban drainage and sanitation infrastructure, including open sewage sites, which aggravate the impacts of floods on residents. Consequently, river overflow combined with poor basic sanitation and the absence of a micro-drainage system to regulate stormwater creates a scenario highly conducive to the transmission of zoonotic diseases such as leptospirosis.

The local community is also politically organized through a neighborhood association – the Association of Friends of the Vila Sônia Neighborhood (AABVS) – whose leadership has a recognized history of local action. The presence of the AABVS, a Community Civil Defense and Protection Nucleus (NUPDEC), and a community leader with strong mobilization capacity collectively ensured substantial resident engagement in the participatory cartography framework employed in this study.

Participatory cartography in disaster prevention

Since the final decade of the twentieth century, research in disaster risk management (DRM) has undergone a paradigm shift, moving away from a technocratic approach centered on technological solutions and specialized knowledge toward an interdisciplinary perspective that accounts for social vulnerability, resilience, and participatory governance (Lavell & Maskrey, 2014). Although this epistemological shift often remains only discursive and does not always translate into concrete action, it strongly informs the Sendai Framework,² which emphasizes social participation methodologies that engage all stakeholders, especially the most vulnerable (Gantus-Oliveira, 2023a). In the same vein, the guidelines of the Ministry of Cities for developing DRM solutions state that social participation must serve as the “guiding force of community resilience” (Brasil, 2024, p. 7).

In this context, it is necessary to rethink traditional DRM models based exclusively on technical-scientific perspectives. Instead, integrated and participatory governance must be promoted (Sulaiman, Moura & Nogueira, 2021). The historical neglect of strategies to reduce vulnerability and strengthen territorial and community resilience must therefore be overcome. Institutional continuity, the creation of cooperation networks across different levels of government, and the use of instruments such as participatory cartography and environmental education are essential strategies for implementing a dialogic and transformative DRM (Gantus-Oliveira, 2023a).

From this perspective, disaster resilience is not understood as a neoliberal agenda disguised as “resilient cities” designed to promote urban gentrification through real estate capital; rather, it is viewed as a social, political, and collective practice of adaptation to global environmental transformations (Gantus-Oliveira, 2023b). In the face of climate change and the growing frequency and intensity of disasters, public managers and civil society must urgently prioritize structural and preventive actions capable of linking ecosystem conservation to equity and human dignity in the most vulnerable territories.

Consequently, knowledge of the territory and community needs is vital for confronting disaster risks and environmental and health emergencies. However, this knowledge is often dispersed across systems, institutions, social actors, and the local community itself. Strengthening community movements is therefore essential for new insights to emerge, paving the way for alternative modes of producing and occupying urban space. For this reason, risks and vulnerabilities must be understood and mapped from the standpoint of those who experience them daily.

Among the main advantages of participatory processes, Aledo and Mañas (2018) emphasize: (1) gathering more representative and accurate information regarding the needs, priorities, and capacities of the local population; (2) adapting programs to local conditions so that resources can be used more efficiently; (3) eliciting local technical information in a less costly manner; (4) giving citizens opportunities to influence decision-making processes; (5) empowering citizens; (6) reinforcing collective identities; and (7) generating public trust in the process.

According to Harley (2009), official cartography has historically represented a form of knowledge closely linked to power. The cartographer, whether consciously or not, does not merely represent territory in an abstract way but reflects the political interests of a given system. Through the selection of content, symbols, and styles, maps function as instruments for imagining, organizing, and structuring the world. This perspective helps explain how maps can be manipulated by those who hold power in society. Typically, cartographic bases and maps are developed by specialized technicians working for public and private institutions involved in urban management.

Allowing communities – especially those marginalized by the system – to produce their own cartographies is a counter-hegemonic act. Around the world, many initiatives have involved local populations in map-making, using participatory cartography as a tool to claim rights, express territorialization processes, and assert identities. Depending on the context, cartography can help organize communities, strengthen collective identities, exert political influence, or make the lived realities of specific social groups visible to the broader public. In this way, participatory cartography brings people together and helps build narratives about community life in territories, revealing the connections within a changing associative fabric. Ultimately, a participatory map exists only through the active and committed involvement of the population, which highlights its dynamic nature: the map is not a finished product, but a continuous process of collective construction.

Methodological approach

The co-creation of new knowledge through the exchange of information and experiences is fundamental to confronting shared environmental and climate challenges. Dynamic social learning occurs through interaction among community members, grounded in dialogue, the exchange of knowledge, and mutual collaboration. According to Jacobi & Grandisoli (2018), there are multiple instruments, methods, and techniques for promoting active participation in the search for consensus-based solutions.

Participatory tools aim to encourage the generation of ideas and foster solidarity- -based and proactive attitudes, strengthening bonds of social cohesion and promoting territorial and community resilience. Based on these assumptions, this research conducted a participatory cartography workshop to define evacuation routes during hydrological disaster emergencies. The workshop was carried out within the framework of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (PMRR) of Itaquaquecetuba, with the aim of delineating strategies for non-structural solutions. Three methods were used: the Teia da Resiliência Comunitária dynamic (Oliveira et al., 2021), the Spoken Map method (Jacobi & Grandisoli, 2018), and the Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins dynamic. The methodological pathway is summarized in the flowchart in Figure 2.

Figure 2
– Methodological pathway of the research

The web dynamic – here termed the Teia da Resiliência Comunitária – opened the participatory cartography workshop. To construct the web, participants stand in a circle and request the floor while holding a ball of twine; after sharing their reflections, they pass the twine to another member of the circle, and so on. Before passing the twine, each participant shares the experiences and feelings that lived during the disaster triggered by the 2025 rains. The previous participant continues holding a segment of the string so that, by the end of the dynamic, an interconnected web is formed. At the end of the exercise, the research team presented a synthesis of the importance of social cohesion, established bonds, and community unity for strengthening disaster response capacity. The web symbolizes this unity: the network of ties and attachments existing within the territory.

The second method used in the workshop was the Spoken Map, which can be understood as a graphic representation of reality drawn from the reading and oral accounts of participants. The Spoken Map seeks to stimulate social participation by combining popular knowledge and technical data. Its application required a detailed cartographic base (1:2,500), extracted from a satellite image and printed in A3 format (29.7 cm × 42 cm). To facilitate the objectives of social cartography through the Spoken Map, participants/residents were divided into two groups and gathered around the map to carry out the following activities in six stages:

1. locate landmarks on the map;

2. locate households where vulnerable individuals live;

3. define a safe shelter location and justify the choice;

4. identify street blockages during flood and waterlogging episodes;

5. draw evacuation routes to the shelter; and

6. draw alternative routes and indicate locations where bridge construction is needed.

Concurrently, the Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins dynamic took place throughout the workshop. Ciranda is a space dedicated to children for recreation and learning about environmental education and risk reduction. It was created by the Unicamp team developing the PMRR as an educational and leisure strategy that simultaneously provides childcare, thereby enabling the full participation of caregivers – especially mothers – during the main workshop. The Ciranda was conducted by members of the research team and representatives of the local public administration.

Chart 1
– Dynamics of the Participatory Cartography Workshop

Participatory Cartography Workshop
Method/ Dynamic	Teia da Resiliência Comunitária	Spoken Map	Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins
Materials	Ball of twine	1:2,500 cartographic base, tracing paper, adhesive labels, colored pens	Drawing, coloring, and writing materials (maps, word searches, puzzles), crayons, toys (hoops, balls), EVA foam mats
Description	Participants stand in a circle, requesting the floor while holding the twine; after sharing, they pass the ball to another member. Each participant relates experiences and emotions from the 2025 disaster before passing it on, while maintaining their grip on the string to form a web that symbolizes local solidarity	Residents are divided into groups around the map to: (1) locate landmarks; (2) locate vulnerable households; (3) define and justify a safe shelter; (4) identify road blockages; (5) trace primary evacuation routes; (6) propose alternative routes and structural demands, such as bridges	Located in a secure space with four tutors responsible for childcare and meals. Children engage in educational activities designed to foster cartographic literacy and environmental awareness through local maps, building a sense of spatial orientation and knowledge of local fauna and flora

Results and discussion

The participatory cartography workshop, conducted on March 29, 2025, fostered an extensive space for dialogue among Vila Sônia residents, technical specialists, researchers, representatives of municipal departments, Civil Defense agents, and representatives of the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp). To conduct the activities, participants gathered in the parish hall of the neighborhood’s Catholic church – a space recommended by local leadership.

The workshop involved 57 residents, predominantly women, alongside a community leader who serves as both the president of the Neighborhood Association (AABVS) and the local representative of the NUPDEC. Several female residents brought their children, who took part in the Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins. The workshop opened with the Teia da Resiliência Comunitária dynamic. This opening fostered rapport between the technical team and the residents, bringing forth elements for critical reflection on the construction of participatory governance in relation to DRM, community resilience, and climate adaptation.

Figure 3
– Participatory cartography workshop setting (March 2025)

Figure 4
– Participatory cartography workshop setting (March 2025)

The accounts recorded during the construction of the “Teia” diagram were striking, underscoring the critical need for articulation both among neighborhood residents and between local authorities and the community. This alignment is essential to ensure that the population is recognized by the municipal technical staff and decision-makers as an integral part of building democratic DRM (Disaster Risk Management). The testimony of an elderly female resident during the web dynamic provides a synthesis of the material and symbolic damages and impacts suffered during the annually recurring flooding and waterlogging events.

This year was worse, all my things inside the house were ruined, I was lying on a bunk bed surrounded by water. I have just been discharged from the hospital. All my things were ruined, but what matters is health, I don't care about material possessions. Then people ask: “Why are you coming to live here? Why did you invade the river's privacy?” We came to live here out of necessity, because if I could, I would live somewhere else, on higher ground [...]. I'm here waiting not just for talk, but for action. We don't live on words alone; there must be action. I tell the folks, “How do you expect improvements in the neighborhood if the population doesn't help, doesn't unite, doesn't demand it?!” The population must unite! (Resident of the Vila Sônia neighborhood, account collected during the workshop)

Her speech also highlights the importance of community mobilization in strengthening territorial resilience, as well as the need for concrete decision-making by public authorities. Notably, when the resident mentions being exhausted by meetings that do not culminate in practical measures – stating “we don't live on words alone; there must be action” – she refers to the sporadic meetings organized between municipal government representatives and the residents, which address the flooding and waterlogging issues that have plagued the neighborhood for decades.

The annual disasters affecting Vila Sônia constitute a profound mark in the history of Itaquaquecetuba, generating widespread dissatisfaction and complaints among residents. This is evident in the frequent media coverage denouncing the neighborhood’s conditions during the rainy season. Consequently, the territory has become a focal point on the municipal executive agenda. In addition, Vila Sônia is currently subject to a Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC) – an extrajudicial enforcement instrument aimed at restoring degraded environments and mitigating potential risks to environmental integrity. The existence of this TAC further explains the frequency of meetings between residents and the municipal government.

However, it is necessary to examine whether this channel of dialogue between the population and decision-makers constitutes pseudo-participation, one-way participation, or effective participation, in which those involved exert greater influence (Arnstein, 1969). Although analyzing the exact transcripts of these municipal meetings is beyond the scope of this study, the issue points to an important research gap, since superficial institutional interactions can weaken public trust in participatory processes such as the one carried out through this PMRR workshop. This institutional fatigue helps explain residents statements calling for “more action and less talk”, as workshops risk being perceived yet another pseudo-participatory forum for venting unresolved structural problems.

In this sense, it should be emphasized that this workshop had a consultative character, focused on gathering information from the population to construct a map and formulate emergency evacuation guidelines as preventive measures. According to Arnstein (1969), consultation marks the entry point into legitimate participatory processes. Through the workshop, a series of infrastructure demands were mapped as essential for strategic risk and disaster management, highlighting the fragility of local basic infrastructure. The final output of the workshop is therefore a technical-community map.

Figure 5
– Spoken Map interactive dynamic during the workshop (March 2025)

As a direct result of the participatory cartography workshop, a thematic map was produced that captured perceptions of hydrological risk, safe zones, routine pathways used by the community, and suggestions for evacuation routes. The presence of residents with mobility constraints was also identified; however, these individuals were likely underrepresented during the session, as residents identified only one household. Consequently, a methodological decision was made to omit this single marker from the final cartographic product to avoid strategic omissions in emergency response operations. This points to an institutional research gap: the need for a systematic, door-to-door census of residents with special needs to optimize disaster prevention plans. The urgency of such a survey is reinforced by a report from the NUPDEC representative regarding an episode in which an elderly wheelchair user had to be rescued from her flooded home with water already reaching her waist.

Regarding internal mobility, residents mapped the routes they use daily and discussed their viability in emergency situations. Figure 6 shows one of the hand-drawn thematic maps produced with the community, while Figure 7 presents the synthesis of these workshop findings in digital cartographic form.

Figure 6
– Hand-drawn participatory map

Figure 7
– Final digital technical-community cartography synthesized from the workshop results

Another aspect emphasized by residents concerns flooding points along the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare, Street Valter da Silva Costa – the only road linking Vila Sônia to the rest of the city’s road network. Although this road lies outside the official flood risk zones delineated by the PMRR data, as shown in Figure 7, it is severely affected by waterlogging even when the river does not overflow. During intense rainfall, this unpaved road, which lacks any micro-drainage system, becomes impassable, isolating the neighborhood. Figures 8 and 9 illustrate the condition of these streets during such episodes.

Figure 8
– Flooded street view

Figure 9
– Flooded street view and adaptive wooden bridge walkways built autonomously by the community.

This situation severely complicates disaster response during catastrophic events, such as the rains of February 2025, when the neighborhood remained flooded for 23 days under nearly one meter of water. Road blockages prevent the operation of urban and emergency health services, such as garbage collection trucks and ambulances. According to residents, during peak flooding events solid waste can only be collected by a backhoe loader – the only vehicle capable of navigating the submerged streets.

Residents also highlighted the socio-environmental impact caused by the adjacent urban site of the logistics company Tora – Transportes Industriais, located south of Street Valter da Silva Costa and identified in Figure 7 as an “urban scar.” An urban scar refers to areas bearing visible and symbolic marks left by history, industrial development, and urban transformation, typically resulting in physical, social, and cultural fragmentation. The CPTM train line, which connects Itaquaquecetuba to the city of São Paulo, runs along the southern boundary of this logistics site. Together, the railway and the corporate facility form an urban scar that culturally and morphologically isolates Vila Sônia, restricting its street connectivity to a single outlet – Street Valter da Silva Costa – which is frequently blocked by floodwaters.

Residents therefore expressed a public demand for the construction of a bridge connecting Street Valter da Silva Costa, at the height of Street Pirituba, directly to the municipal road network, crossing the railway and the industrial perimeter. This bridge would ensure vehicular flow between Vila Sônia and the city, maintaining uninterrupted access for ambulances and municipal services during emergencies. Safety concerns were also raised regarding the pedestrian footbridge connecting Street Valter da Silva Costa to Avenida Eldorado. Residents reported that the absence or insufficiency of public lighting makes the bridge dark at night, inhibiting pedestrian circulation – particularly for women and children – because of fear of violence. In disaster scenarios, this lack of lighting compounds evacuation hazards and obstructs movement toward safe zones.

The formulation of concrete proposals, such as the bridge, public lighting improvements, and the technical-community definition of evacuation routes, underscores the importance of institutionalizing participatory workflows. Social participation was thus operationalized in this research as a democratic right, generating fairer and more inclusive solutions for Vila Sônia. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge the limits of science in materializing these proposals, as implementation lies with public authorities.

The implementation of this participatory cartography workshop successfully aligned with the eight principles proposed by Reed (2008) for effective stakeholder engagement. Engaging residents from the earliest stages of the project, beginning in March 2024 with the initial PMRR hydrological mapping, and culminating in this evacuation mapping workshop, fostered a space grounded in empowerment, social learning, and knowledge exchange, ensuring that citizens had an active voice in identifying hazards and co-designing solutions. Clarity of objectives from the outset, combined with the adaptation of methods to the specific socio-territorial context of Vila Sônia, strengthened community buy-in and validated the legitimacy of the results.

Finally, the inclusion of the Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins (Figure 10) proved to be a fundamental strategy for ensuring the full participation of caregivers, particularly women, in risk reduction and planning frameworks. As demonstrated by literature on intersecting inequalities of gender, race, and class, women – especially those in socioeconomically vulnerable positions – bear a disproportionate burden of care work, which limits their presence in decision-making spaces and reinforces their marginalization in the public sphere (Gantus- -Oliveira, 2024).

Figure 10
– Ciranda Mapeantes Mirins workspace

By providing an educational and welcoming childcare space, the Ciranda enabled the effective participation of these women in prevention and community planning activities, challenging the patriarchal logic that naturalizes their confinement to the domestic sphere. In this sense, the Ciranda operates as an intersectional practice of inclusion and social justice, allowing women to be recognized not as passive, vulnerable subjects, but as central protagonists and agents in building resilient and equitable territories.

Final considerations

The experience of participatory cartography in Vila Sônia demonstrated the democratic potential of participatory processes in shaping disaster risk management strategies in peripheral territories. By bringing together diverse actors – the community, public authorities, academia, and local institutions – it was possible to identify preferred and safe evacuation routes and build a collective diagnosis of local urban vulnerabilities and citizen demands.

The community mobilization observed throughout the workshop reflects a clear demand for structural adjustments and highlights the need to treat popular participation as a fundamental right rather than an institutional concession. Accordingly, the main issues identified during the session – which intersect with constitutional rights – include recurring road blockages due to waterlogging; unsafe urban mobility; exposure to waterborne diseases linked to hydrological events and poor sanitation; and the absence of formal institutional guidelines for population evacuation during extreme weather events.

To address these challenges, the study proposes the following solutions: the construction of a bridge connecting the neighborhood’s main artery to the city’s wider road network in order to secure access for emergency vehicles; public lighting upgrades on pedestrian bridges; the installation and modernization of stormwater micro-drainage and basic sanitation networks to mitigate flood impacts; and the formal institutionalization of evacuation protocols. This includes pre-positioning rescue equipment and basic supplies at the church shelter, installing visible evacuation signage along the mapped routes, and establishing official communication channels.

The resulting technical-community map transcends its role as a static scientific output and becomes a tool for social and political advocacy capable of driving preventive action while bridging the gap between popular and scientific knowledge. However, for this initiative to move beyond the symbolic sphere, local authorities must formally institutionalize these co-produced proposals to ensure long--term operational continuity. Ultimately, the participatory cartography experience in Vila Sônia mirrors the broader reality of Brazilian urban peripheries as spaces where structural and racialized inequalities coexist with singular political potency. This process reinforces the importance of seeing peripheries not merely as spaces of vulnerability, but as territories of political capacity that open avenues for participatory democracy.

Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to the team at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) responsible for developing the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Plan of Itaquaquecetuba, coordinated by Professor Jefferson de Lima Picanço. The team members are Alexandra Martins Silva, Ana Elisa Silva de Abreu, Ana Paula Leal Pinheiro Cruz, Carolina de Souza Oliveira, Débora Piai de Assis, Julia Vieira Santo, Luiz Antonio Bongiovanni, Luiz Henrique Colato Toni, Mateus Hcristos Leptokarydis, and Rafaela Vital Santana Araújo. The authors also thank the Municipal Government of Itaquaquecetuba, the National Secretariat for Peripheries of the Ministry of Cities in Brazil, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) of Brazil for funding under grant 309518/2025-3. Special thanks are extended to the residents of Vila Sônia and the president of the neighborhood association, Michael Oliveira, for community mobilization

References

• ALEDO, A.; MAÑAS, J. J. (2018). "Troca de saberes: participação na gestão de risco". In: SULAIMAN, S. N.; JACOBI, P. R. (org.). Melhor prevenir: olhares e saberes para a redução de risco de desastre São Paulo, IEE-USP.
• ARNSTEIN, S. R. (1969). A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners. Washington, v. 35, n. 4, pp. 216-224.
• BRASIL (1986). CONFERÊNCIA NACIONAL DE SAÚDE, 8. Relatório Final. Brasília, Ministério da Saúde.
• BRASIL (2024a). Departamento de Informática do SUS - Datasus. Informações de saúde. Brasília/DF, Ministério da Saúde. Disponível em: https://datasus.saude.gov.br Acesso em: 20 mar 2025.
  » https://datasus.saude.gov.br
• BRASIL (2024b). Secretaria Nacional de Periferias. Departamento de Mitigação e Prevenção de Riscos. Guia para Planos Municipais de Redução de Riscos. Brasília/DF, Ministério das Cidades. Disponível em: https://www.gov.br/cidades/pt-br/assuntos/publicacoes/arquivos/arquivos/Guia_PMRR.pdf Acesso em: 16 set 2025.
  » https://www.gov.br/cidades/pt-br/assuntos/publicacoes/arquivos/arquivos/Guia_PMRR.pdf
• GANTUS-OLIVEIRA, T. (2023a). Planejamento territorial urbano para gestão de riscos e resiliência a desastres. Um estudo de caso em Santos, São Paulo. Tese de doutorado. Campinas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
• GANTUS-OLIVEIRA, T. (2023b). Cidades resilientes e a disputa sobre o discurso da agenda de redução de riscos e desastres. GEOUSP. São Paulo, v. 27, e-200724.
• GANTUS-OLIVEIRA, T. (2024). Vulnerabilidade de gênero e raça e os desastres socionaturais. Revista de Estudos Feministas. Florianópolis, v. 32, n. 1, pp. 1-15.
• HARLEY, B. (2009). Mapas, saber e poder. Confins - Revista Franco-Brasileira de Geografia São Paulo, v. 5.
• IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (2010). Censo Demográfico 2010. Disponível em: https://censo2010.ibge.gov.br/ Acesso em: 22 abr 2025.
  » https://censo2010.ibge.gov.br/
• IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (2022). Censo Demográfico 2022. Disponível em: https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/sociais/populacao/22827-censo-demografico-2022.html Acesso em: 22 abr 2025.
  » https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/sociais/populacao/22827-censo-demografico-2022.html
• JACOBI, P. R.; GRANDISOLI, E. (2018). "Aprender junto. Práticas colaborativas e aprendizagem social". In: SULAIMAN, S. N.; JACOBI, P. R. (org.) Melhor prevenir: olhares e saberes para a redução de risco de desastre. São Paulo, IEE-USP.
• LAVELL, A.; MASKREY, A. (2014). The future of disaster risk management. Environmental Hazards, v. 13, n. 4, pp. 267-280.
• LONDE, L. D. R.; MOURA, L. G.; COUTINHO, M. P.; MARCHEZINI, V.; SORIANO, E. (2018). Vulnerabilização, saúde e desastres socioambientais no litoral de São Paulo: desafios para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Ambiente & Sociedade. São Paulo, v. 21, e01022.
• NOGUEIRA, F. R. (2002). Gerenciamento de riscos ambientais associados a escorregamentos: contribuição às políticas públicas municipais para áreas de ocupação subnormal. Tese de doutorado. Rio Claro, Universidade do Estado de São Paulo.
• OLIVEIRA, S. S.; PORTELLA, S.; YOSHIKAWA, C. T.; LOBOSCO, D.; DIAS, L. F.; OLIVEIRA, T. C. D. (2021). De Nosso Território Sabemos Nós: experiência de cartografia social para emergências e desastres. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. Rio de Janeiro, v. 26, pp. 4579-4590.
• REED, M. S. (2008). Stakeholder participation for environmental management: a literature review. Biological Conservation Oxford, v. 141, n. 10, pp. 2417-2431.
• SULAIMAN, S. N.; MOURA, R. B.; NOGUEIRA, F. R. (2021). Da geotecnia para a gestão participativa: uma análise crítica de projetos de extensão universitária com foco na redução de risco de desastre. Urbe. Revista Brasileira de Gestão Urbana, v. 14, p. e20210118.
• UNDRR - United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015). Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015-2030. Sendai, Japan, UNDRR.
• VALENCIO, N. (2014). Desastres: tecnicismo e sofrimento social. Ciência e Saúde Coletiva, v. 19, n. 9, pp. 3631-3644.
• WILCHES-CHAUX, G. (1993). "La vulnerabilidad global". In: MASKREY, A. (ed.). Los desastres no son naturales La Red - Red de Estudios Sociales en Prevención de Desastres en América Latina.

Notes

• 1
  Considered for this purpose are the data available up to the completion of this study, on 16 July 2025.
• 2
  The Sendai Framework is a global agreement adopted in 2015 that guides the prevention and reduction of disaster risks through integrated and inclusive measures to strengthen community resilience. Its primary objective is to minimize losses in lives, health, livelihoods, and economic, social, and cultural assets by 2030 (UNDRR, 2015).
• Data availability statement:
  The entire dataset supporting the results of this study was published in the article itself.

Edited by

• Editors:
  Lucia Bógus and
  Luiz César de Queiroz Ribeiro

Data availability

The entire dataset supporting the results of this study was published in the article itself.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  28 Aug 2026
• Date of issue
  Sep-Dec 2026

History

• Received
  2 Oct 2025
• Accepted
  17 Apr 2026