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Latest News
  • [ 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
  • [ August 17, 2026 ] Acari Favela Launches Pioneering Study on the Impacts of Flooding in the Community *Highlight
HomeReviews

Reviews

#UPPWatch

Rio de Janeiro’s ‘Milícias’—Vigilante, Off-Duty Police Gangs—Are Not a Parallel Power: They Are the State at Work [BOOK REVIEW]

By Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Sia Kulkarni • July 13, 2026

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on the 2026 Brazilian elections, focusing on the perspectives of Greater Rio’s favelas. In the book Como Nasce um Miliciano? (How Is a Militiaman […]

*Highlight

‘Valongo’s New Blacks Cemetery’ Trilogy Reveals Deep Roots of Structural Racism and Urban Inequality in Rio [BOOK REVIEW]

By Paulo Gabriel dos Santos • Translation by Louisa Morrison • March 5, 2026

Clique aqui para Português Released in full in 2025, the trilogy Valongo’s New Blacks Cemetery – An Impactful Journey Through the History of Slavery in Brazil, organized by the New Blacks Institute (IPN) and João […]

*Highlight

The Play ‘Pacts to Reforest the Earth’ Portrays 2040 in Rio’s Maré Favela, Where ‘All That Remain Are the Pests and the Power of Ancestral Love’ [REVIEW]

By Karen Fontoura • Translation by Kay Alvito • July 30, 2025

Clique aqui para Português Through dance, music, audiovisual and many laughs, two Black queers stage the end of humanity. Set in 2040, as the post-human era begins, the play raises the questions: what is Complexo […]

by Community Contributors

Discover ‘String of Memories’: A Book Written by Night School Students in Rio’s Rocinha Favela in 1983, During the Military Dictatorship

By Fernando Ermiro da Silva • Translation by Kay Alvito • May 31, 2024

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, […]

*Highlight

This Women’s Day, Learn About the Ongoing Relevance of Carolina Maria de Jesus, a Historic Afro-Brazilian Author from the Favelas [REVIEW]

By Igor Soares • Translation by Ujwala Murthy • March 8, 2024

Clique aqui para Português A Brazilian Literary Classic Carolina Maria de Jesus said so much about Brazil. Her writing, charged with feeling and indignation, reflected a difficult reality not only experienced by the writer herself, […]

Posts pagination

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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

contact@rioonwatch.org
WhatsApp +55.21.991.976.444
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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
    • 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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