When the visible is not seen: perceptions of the urban landscape in downtown Bauru

Abstract

The article analyzes the urban landscape of downtown Bauru, a city in the interior of São Paulo, by articulating the structural concepts of Kevin Lynch with the ethnographic approach of José Guilherme Magnani. The aim is to make visible those elements of the city that, although physically present, remain ignored or rendered invisible in everyday urban life. The methodology combines a bibliographic review, walking ethnography, affective listening, and analytical systematization, allowing for a sensitive reading of paths, landmarks, boundaries, districts, and nodes. The analysis reveals how these elements preserve memories, affections, and dynamics that resist the erasure caused by modernization and spatial fragmentation. Thus, the “urban invisible” does not refer to physical absence, but to the symbolic silencing imposed by social, political, and economic practices that devalue cultural heritage and everyday memories. By proposing an articulation between experience, perception, and structure, the study contributes to a more complex, critical, and affective understanding of the urban landscape and its importance to collective identity.