The urban growth of many Brazilian cities has advanced towards the urban floodplains, and this occupation has been taking place without taking into account the natural characteristics of the place, which has contributed to causing socio-environmental damage. The municipality of Abaetetuba, like most Brazilian cities, has also undergone a disordered urbanization process and presents several situations of risks and vulnerabilities such as the occupation of the floodplain areas. Some neighborhoods in the city grew in floodplain areas such as São João neighborhoods, which was born and expanded over the floodplains, in areas of APPs (Permanent Preservation Areas). The occupation process in that neighborhood caused significant changes in the landscape. According to the report by the Companhia de Recursos Minerales (CPRM), this precarious and disordered urbanization process contributed to the occurrence of the disaster that occurred in 2014 in the São João neighborhood. Given this context, this study aimed to understand the main causes that contributed to the occupation the urban floodplains of the São João neighborhood on the banks of the Maratauíra river, and what are the consequences of this occupation process. The methodology used consisted of a qualitative case study that used direct observation and interviews with 12 residents of the neighborhood as data collection instruments. The conceptual basis of the research is based on authors such as Almeida (2012), Souza and Zanella (2009), Veyret (2007) who associate the social vulnerabilities with environmental risks and these risks as decisive factors for the occurrence of disasters; with Yu-Fu Tuan (1980), the notion of place as an identity factor; Marandola and Hogan (2009), which support the discussion about the approach to place in studies risk perception; with Santos (2002) in understanding the landscape as a result of the interaction between natural components and anthropic actions; in HARVEY (1980), the right to the city in a way that meets human needs. Preliminary results of the research show that the demographic growth and the lack of urban planning contributed to a disorderly urban expansion in the São João neighborhood. Despite the municipality's master plan establishing guidelines for the use and occupation of urban land, the omission of the public power with the neighborhoods that grew on the banks of rivers, in APPs areas, contributed to an urban occupation incompatible with the principles of environmental preservation. It was also found that the identity factor, associated with the residents' previous place of living, and the absence of public housing policies aimed at people with low purchasing power are decisive factors both for the occupation of environmentally fragile areas and for the permanence of residents in the neighborhood studied.
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