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Latest News
  • [ 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
Homeconstruction

construction

#HousingWatch

Building the Favela: The Story of Diogo Barbosa in Vila Laboriaux, Rocinha

By David Robertson • September 8, 2016

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 2 of the Building the Favela series, a collection of stories of how people build their homes. The informality of Rio’s favelas means residents use their creativity and own know-how to build almost every […]

#EvictionsWatch

PUC Architecture Students Launch Site Documenting 7 Years of Urban Transformations in Rio de Janeiro

By Stephanie Reist • August 11, 2016

Clique aqui para Português A huge sign at the Olympic Park in Barra de Tijuca in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro reads: “The Olympics bring much more than just the Olympics.” What this “much more” […]

#EvictionsWatch

Building the Favela: The Story of Daniel Ferreira Campos in Vila União de Curicica

By David Robertson • June 25, 2016

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 1 of the Building the Favela series, a collection of stories of how people build their homes. The informality of Rio’s favelas means residents use their creativity and own know-how to build almost every […]

#EvictionsWatch

Study Finds that ‘Minha Casa Minha Vida’ Reproduces Social Injustice

By Thiago Guimarães • Translation by Amanda Bradshaw • October 29, 2015

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Thiago Guimarães published on BBC Brasil click here. During this final stretch to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, deadlines become shorter and pressure mounts on communities that […]

*Highlight

Green Favela Vale Encantado Breaks Ground on a Sewage Treatment Biosystem

By Claire Lepercq • October 10, 2015

Clique aqui para Português During the month of September 2015, a team of engineers, masons, and workers in Vale Encantado began the construction of the community’s second biodigester, this one designed as the first step towards a sewage treatment […]

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

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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

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  • Violations
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    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
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  • Content Map
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      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
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