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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
Homeupgrading

upgrading

Policies

“My House” in the Land of the Interest-free Car

By Sérgio Magalhães • Translation by Rachel Fox • April 29, 2013

For the original article in Portuguese by Sérgio Magalhães* in O Globo, click here. Troubled by the quality of construction of projects in the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV, or My House My Life federal […]

Policies

A History of Favela Upgrades Part III: Morar Carioca in Vision and Practice (2008 – 2013)

By Catherine Osborn • April 2, 2013

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 3 of a three-part series on the History of Favela Upgrades in Rio. Click for Part 1 and Part 2. In Rio, the end of the 2000s brought a trickle of funding to a […]

Policies

Barreira do Vasco Seeks Sanitation Improvements from Morar Carioca

By Felicity Clarke • January 7, 2013

Residents of São Cristóvão’s First Favela, Barreira do Vasco, seek community oversight, sanitation and electricity improvements–and no evictions–as one of the first favelas to benefit from the Morar Carioca favela upgrading program. Located next to […]

Policies

A History of Favela Upgrades Part II: Introducing Favela-Bairro (1988-2008)

By Catherine Osborn • November 26, 2012

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 2 of a three-part series on the History of Favela Upgrades in Rio. Click for Part 1 and Part 3. Walk into a favela in Rio today and you may see railings and […]

Event Reports

Curicica Weighs in on Morar Carioca Roles and Obligations

By Catherine Osborn • October 10, 2012

Clique aqui para Português Last Monday night in Curicica, Jacarepaguá, in Rio’s West Zone, Carlos Brandão held up three blue circles cut from construction paper. “City government,” he announced to the thirty people seated encircling […]

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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
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  • Communities
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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
    • Feedback
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