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  • [ 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
HomeReference Articles

Reference Articles

#UPPWatch

Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) Installations Part 1: 2008-2010

By Patrick Ashcroft, Rachael Hilderbrand • January 7, 2015

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 1 in a five-part series documenting Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) Installations.  Rio de Janeiro’s Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) program was initiated in late 2008; today units have been installed in 38 […]

#Rio2016

Best and Worst International Reporting on Rio’s Favelas: 2014

By RioOnWatch Editorial • January 5, 2015

Clique aqui para Português This is the latest contribution to our media watchdog series on the Best and Worst International Reporting on Rio’s favelas, part of RioOnWatch’s ongoing conversation on the media narrative and media portrayal surrounding favelas. 2014 was an […]

Favela Culture

A Country Called Favela by Renato Meirelles and Celso Athayde [BOOK REVIEW]

By Andrea Cangialosi • October 7, 2014

Clique aqui para Português Um País Chamado Favela (in English, A Country Called Favela) by Renato Meirelles, president of Data Popular, and Celso Athayde, co-founder of CUFA, examines the accomplishments of favelas and their economic advancements, with analysis of informal housing and its economic power […]

#Rio2016

Morar Carioca: The Dismantling of a Dream Favela Upgrading Program

By Kate Steiker-Ginzberg • September 10, 2014

Clique aqui para Português This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (Tampa, FL. April 2014) An architect recently described the Morar Carioca […]

*Highlight

Translating ‘Favela’ Part 2: A Journey through Latin America [INTERACTIVE MAP]

By M.Alejandra Revelo-Imery • Translation by Cara D’Rosario • July 11, 2014

Clique aqui para Português This is the second in a two-part series on translating “favela.” For Part 1 click here. Scroll to the end for the interactive map. Reflecting on the huge generalization which results in using just […]

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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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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

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    • Government Neglect
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