Quando a água retorna à cidade: consensualidade administrativa e prevenção de desastres urbanos.

This article analyzes the relationship between urbanization, transformations in the urban hydrological cycle, and institutional governance in the management of urban flooding, with emphasis on administrative instruments of coordination and consensual decision-making. The study is based on the premise that urban flooding cannot be understood solely as a natural event or an infrastructure problem, but rather as a phenomenon resulting from territorial, environmental, social, and institutional processes that shape urban space. The research adopts a qualitative approach of a legal-institutional nature, grounded in bibliographic review, normative analysis, and the examination of public governance instruments applicable to urban risk management. Initially, the study demonstrates that intensive urbanization, soil impermeabilization, the occupation of environmentally sensitive areas, and weaknesses in territorial planning alter the functioning of the hydrological cycle and increase cities’ vulnerability to flooding events. It then highlights that the management of such events involves multiple institutional and social actors, including environmental agencies, civil defense structures, sanitation policies, social assistance systems, the real estate sector, civil society organizations, and the population, thus constituting a complex governance environment. Finally, the article argues that mechanisms such as coordinated administrative decisions, public hearings, terms of adjustment of conduct, and technical coordination forums contribute to the development of more legitimate, efficient, and cooperative solutions. The study concludes that the prevention and mitigation of urban flooding depend not only on structural infrastructure investments but also on the strengthening of institutional coordination and consensual governance mechanisms in urban territorial management.