Between Landfills and Resistance

Manaus and the Challenges of Resilient Urban Planning in the Amazon

Abstract

This text examines the urban history of Manaus, exploring how its economic cycles—from the colonial period to the Manaus Free Trade Zone—have shaped its uneven and unsustainable development. Founded as a military fort in 1669, the city underwent profound transformations during the 19th-century Belle Époque, when the rubber boom financed major urban projects such as the Amazon Theatre and the Adolpho Lisboa Market, inspired by European modernization models. However, the decline of the rubber industry in the early 20th century plunged Manaus into a prolonged crisis, leading to abandoned infrastructure and interrupted urban planning.

Economic revival came with the establishment of the Manaus Free Trade Zone in 1967, which triggered mass migration and resulted in disordered urban expansion, marked by the filling of streams (igarapés), informal settlements, and socio-spatial segregation. Initiatives like PROSAMIM, launched in 2005, sought to address these issues but prioritized conventional canalization methods, exacerbating flood risks and failing to ensure inclusive urban development.

Today, Manaus faces growing climate challenges, including record flooding of the Negro River and severe deficiencies in basic sanitation. Although the 2014 Master Plan aligns with the City Statute, it inadequately addresses climate resilience, permitting construction in flood-prone areas. As an alternative, the text proposes adopting the sponge city concept, integrating green, blue, and conventional infrastructure to improve urban water management and reduce vulnerabilities, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: Manaus, economic cycles, PROSAMIM, sponge cities, climate change.