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Latest News
  • [ September 22, 2026 ] Prazeres Favela Community Garden Reclaims Ancestral Knowledge and Celebrates ‘Our Oldest Technology: Putting a Seed in the Ground’ by Community Contributors
  • [ September 17, 2026 ] The ‘Cloud’ Has an Address: Data Centers Put Water, Electricity and Land at the Center of the Debate in Rio de Janeiro #LegacyWatch
  • [ September 13, 2026 ] ‘I Moved Back to the Favela So I Wouldn’t Starve in the Housing Project’: An Ethnographic Account of the Olympic Resettlement Experience in Parque Carioca #EvictionsWatch
  • [ September 7, 2026 ] 2026 Elections: What’s at Stake for Favelas When Brazilians Cast Votes at the Ballot Box? #ParticipationWatch
  • [ 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
HomeDrug Traffic

Drug Traffic

Gilmara helped create gay rights marches in Maré, Alemão, and Rocinha--three of Rio's largest favelas. Photo by: Fabio Teixeira
*Highlight

“Being Gay in a Favela Hasn’t Gotten Easier. We’re Still Fighting for Our Lives.”

By Jefferson Puff • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • February 10, 2016

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Jefferson Puff in Portuguese published by BBC Brasil click here. “In the favela you can’t kiss or walk holding hands. Gays, lesbians and transexuals living in favelas have […]

Photo: Flickr, Vitor Silva
#UPPWatch

Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio [BOOK REVIEW]

By Sarah Jacobs • October 22, 2015

Clique aqui para Português At the beginning of Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio, journalist Misha Glenny recalls a tour he took of Rocinha, Rio’s largest single favela, in 2007. During the tour, […]

#HousingWatch

First ‘Minha Casa Minha Vida’ Public Housing Projects Now Fraught With Violence and Neglect

By Márcio Menasce, Tiago Dantas • Translation by Sam Salvesen • October 21, 2015

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Tiago Dantas and Márcio Menasce published in O Globo click here. Five years after the first Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV, or My House My […]

*Highlight

The Language of the Favela Part 2: Dialect & Stigma

By Gitanjali Patel • September 29, 2015

This is the second of a three-part series on the language spoken in the peripheries of Rio de Janeiro. Don’t miss Part 1 and Part 2. In Rio de Janeiro, dominant representations in the media and […]

Civil Society

Community Organization in Cascadura Educates Youth Through Sports

By Elma Gonzalez • July 30, 2015

Every Saturday, José Fernando Silva gathers young people in Orlando Leite public park in Cascadura, a neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, to play soccer. Silva has been doing this for 15 years. What began […]

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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.

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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
    • 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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