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Latest News
  • [ January 13, 2026 ] 10 Years Since the Rio Olympics: Vila Autódromo Continues to Resist Gentrification Pressures Amidst New ‘Olympic Barra’ Neighborhood #EvictionsWatch
  • [ January 8, 2026 ] COP30 Civil Society Rundown: Thousands of Communities and Social Movements, Representing Favelas, Indigenous, Quilombola and Other Marginalized Groups Fill Belém During COP30 [IMAGES] *Highlight
  • [ December 31, 2025 ] ‘What We Want Aren’t Bodies on the Ground… It’s Recognition of [Our] People Creating Solutions’: Penha Favelas Hold Composters and Integrated Health Events Highlighting Local Climate Memories *Highlight
  • [ December 26, 2025 ] 2025 Retrospective of Top International Reporting on Rio’s Favelas #MediaWatch
  • [ December 24, 2025 ] ‘No One in Terra Firme Will Sleep Hungry Today!’ Amid Adversity, Belém Favela Initiatives Distribute 2,200 Meals During COP30 With Support from the People’s Summit Solidarity Kitchen *Highlight
HomeFavela Qualities

Favela Qualities

by Community Contributors

Female Entrepreneurship + Racial Literacy = Financial Autonomy for Women in Jardim Gramacho, Favela Made Famous in ‘Waste Land’ Film

By Janaina Tavares • Translation by Yasmin Quaife • March 20, 2025

Clique aqui para Português This Women’s Month, in one of the most vulnerable areas of Greater Rio de Janeiro’s Baixada Fluminense region, an initiative is transforming the lives of Black women from low-income backgrounds with […]

*Highlight

Rio Carnival 2025: Mangueira Samba School Exalts ‘Pride in Being from the Favela’ While Telling the Story of the Bantu Peoples [INTERVIEW]

By Rhuan Gonçalves • Translation by Staff • February 28, 2025

Clique aqui para Português Rio de Janeiro’s 2025 Carnival is here, celebrating a people increasingly proud of themselves and their history. Of the 12 samba schools in the Special Group, only two—Mocidade and Vila Isabel—will […]

#CommunityMedia

‘I’m Still Here’ Say Rio’s Favela Media. Get to Know, ‘Folha do Borel,’ a Historic Favela Newspaper Produced During Brazil’s Military Dictatorship

By Igor Soares • Translation by Kay Alvito • January 29, 2025

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of RioOnWatch‘s series on Memories of Favela Power, which documents and celebrates the history of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas through narratives and reports from residents’ collective memory, in […]

*Highlight

2024 Retrospective of Top International Reporting on Rio’s Favelas

By Kincaid Cummings • December 26, 2024

Clique aqui para Português From 2013 to 2023, RioOnWatch ran the Best and Worst International Reporting on Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas series. It began, quite symptomatically, with the Worst International Reporting on Rio’s Favelas: 2013, […]

*Highlight

Rio de Janeiro’s Second Largest Favela, Rio das Pedras, Claims Space at the Center of Favela History Through ‘Territories of Memory’ Event

By Wellington Melo • Translation by Hannah McKenzie • December 12, 2024

Clique aqui para Português On November 23, community news outlet Lume Agency held an in-depth event on memory at the CAIC Euclides da Cunha secondary school in Rio das Pedras, Rio de Janeiro’s second largest […]

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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.
A Project of

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.

Contact & Support

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10 Years! Check Out Our Story:

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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    • 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
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