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Latest News
  • [ August 31, 2026 ] Prior to Elections, Rio de Janeiro State Legislature Revives ‘Wild West Bonus’ and Elects Its Author Chair of Human Rights Commission #UPPWatch
  • [ August 29, 2026 ] ‘I Miss Everything’: Reflections from Conceição Queiroz Ten Years After Being Evicted from Vila Autódromo for the Olympic Games [INTERVIEW] #EvictionsWatch
  • [ August 28, 2026 ] From Concrete to Food: Collective Action Transforms Abandoned Reservoir Into Community Garden in Complexo do Alemão [IMAGES] *Highlight
  • [ August 23, 2026 ] 10 Years After Olympics, Rio’s Chronically Neglected Suburban Rail System Is Handed Over to New Consortium, Nova Via Mobilidade #LegacyWatch
  • [ August 22, 2026 ] Third Strongest Windstorm in Rio de Janeiro History Causes Panic and Leaves Trail of Destruction, Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia *Highlight
HomeFavela Qualities

Favela Qualities

*Highlight

Acari Favela Launches Pioneering Study on the Impacts of Flooding in the Community

By Amanda Baroni Lopes • Translation by Staff • August 17, 2026

Clique aqui para Português On July 18, a sunny Saturday, the Acari favela, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, launched the Portraits of Floods study. Produced by the Decodifica Institute in partnership with grassroots collectives […]

*Highlight

Visiting Rio Before July 30th? Don’t Miss ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition at the Favela Museum Overlooking Ipanema: ‘We Learned to Survive So We Can Tell Others How’

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Staff • June 1, 2026

Clique aqui para Português The ‘Favela Climate Memory’ exhibition returned to the Favela Museum (MUF) during Brazil’s 24th Annual National Museum Week, now presented in its complete form. Organized by eleven museums and memory project […]

*Highlight

Critical Urban Park in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone Is at Risk of Disappearing After Decades of Government Neglect

By Fernanda Delatorre • Translation by Sia Kulkarni • May 30, 2026

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the favelas […]

*Highlight

Complex and Intelligent, the Favela Has Its Own Geography

By Preto Zezé • Translation by Staff • May 15, 2026

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Preto Zezé published in O Globo, click here.  In the year Milton Santos would have turned 100, perhaps the best tribute to the Bahian geographer is not […]

*Highlight

Award-Winning Middle School in Penha Favela Hosts Gardening Collective Action Engaging Passionate Young Environmental Leaders

By Amanda Baroni Lopes • Translation by Alyssa Oliver • March 29, 2026

Clique aqui para Português Two years ago, classes at the Brant Horta Technological Municipal School (GET Brant Horta), located in Penha, a complex of favelas and surrounding neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, resumed […]

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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
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  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
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  • 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
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