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Latest News
  • [ December 4, 2025 ] Portrait of a Centenary-Old Favela of Stilt Houses: Belém’s Vila da Barca Resists, Organizes and Fights for Sanitation and Adequate Housing #HousingWatch
  • [ November 30, 2025 ] The Story of Dona Pascoalina, Midwife and Healer of Morro do Borel by Community Contributors
  • [ November 15, 2025 ] ‘There’s No Such Thing as Normal After a Massacre’: One Week After Police Mega-Operation Kills 121 People, Residents From Complexos do Alemão and Penha Speak Out #UPPWatch
  • [ November 13, 2025 ] ‘Human Beings Forget That They Are Nature’: Favelas Teach the Path to the Future at the 2nd Favela Sustainability Festival Civil Society
  • [ November 12, 2025 ] Food Sovereignty and Culinary Heritage Connect with Fight for Climate Justice at the 2nd Sustainable Favela Festival Civil Society
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Policies

Beware of Poorly Vetted ‘Sustainability Certifications’: Brazil’s Palm Oil Industry

By Rachel Mucha • April 12, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Here on RioOnWatch we regularly report on land rights struggles in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. With this focus in mind, on occasion we may publish articles such as this one, highlighting […]

*Highlight

The Land Teaches Us: Collective Knowledge-Building from Women’s Body-Territories

By Aline Lima, Mariana Praça • Translation by Lee Weingast • April 9, 2019

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Aline Lima and Marina Praça—community educators and directors of the Institute of Alternative Policies for the Southern Cone (PACS)—published on Medium click here.  What […]

#HousingWatch

Rio City Council Launches Inquiry on Flooding and Accountability for Disaster Prevention

By Rachel Mucha • April 2, 2019

Clique aqui para Português In the aftermath of the strong winds, torrential rain, flash flooding and landslides that killed seven people and left a trail of destruction and damage in favelas such as Rocinha, Vidigal, Complexo do Alemão, […]

#CommunityMedia

How a Neighborhood in Rio’s Periphery of Duque de Caxias Is Reawakening Through Hip Hop

By Fabio Leon • Translation by Jiselle Steele • February 19, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Originating among African-Americans in protest of the exclusion promoted by dominant economic and cultural systems, the hip hop movement easily won over Brazilian communities in the mid-1980s—ten years after taking off […]

#MarielleLegacy

Marielle Franco and Sérgio Besserman: Two Sides of the Favela Evictions and Environment Debate

By Lucas Smolcic Larson • June 20, 2018

Clique aqui para Português “The favela is not the problem. The favela is the city. The favela is the solution.” These were Rio City Councilwoman Marielle Franco’s opening remarks as she appeared on an episode of […]

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RioOnWatch’s anti-racist reporting series won silver in the 2022 inaugural The Anthem Awards, in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category among Best Local Awareness Programs.
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About

In May 2010, Catalytic Communities launched what was originally Rio Olympics Neighborhood Watch (hence RioOnWatch), a program to bring visibility to favela community voices in the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics. This news site, RioOnWatch.org, grew into a much-needed and unique reference featuring favela perspectives on the urban transformation of Rio. With diverse and deeply interlinked articles by a mix of community reporters, resident opinions, solidarity reporters, international observers, and academic researchers, we work to engender a more accurate picture of favelas, their contributions to the city, and the potential of favela-led community development in Rio and around the world.

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Awards

Special Thanks

Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil
World Habitat
Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña
Pastoral de Favelas
Center for CLT Innovation
Global Land Alliance
Ecocity Builders
Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation
SDSU Behner Stiefel Center
The Rio Times
Forum Grita Baixada
Beto Paixão Graphic Design
Architecture Museum of Vienna
Yale School of Architecture

  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

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