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Latest News
  • [ May 9, 2025 ] ‘Trash? Not to Us!’ Environmental Action in Rio Public Housing Complex Denounces Municipal Neglect and Proposes Waste Collection as a Source of Income by Community Contributors
  • [ April 30, 2025 ] Sustainable Favela Network Launches Groundbreaking ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition on May 3, Kicking Off Museums Month [RELEASE] *Highlight
  • [ April 20, 2025 ] ‘No One Wants to Hear How Much We Miss Them’: 20 Years After the Baixada Massacre, Families of Victims Report Poor Mental Health and Demand Psychosocial Support from the State #UPPWatch
  • [ April 14, 2025 ] ‘I Was Up All Night, Like Every Summer’: Storm Deepens Climate Anxiety and Sparks Outrage Among Favela Residents Across Greater Rio de Janeiro, Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia #MediaWatch
  • [ April 7, 2025 ] ‘Temporary’ Housing in Santa Cruz Turns 60: Reflecting on Cesarão, the First Housing Complex, and Favela do Aço #EvictionsWatch
HomeInformality

Informality

*Highlight

A Pyramidal Approach to Upgrading Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas, Part 2: Regularization, Basic Needs, and Community Participation

By Natalia Meléndez Fuentes • September 9, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is the second article in a six-part series on the application of Meléndez’s Pyramid for Favela Upgrading to the city of Rio de Janeiro and its favelas. This pyramidal concept was […]

Bolsonaro observes supporters at a rally in Brasilia amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photo - Evaristo Sa, AFP
#CoronavirusWatch

Bolsonaro is ‘Threat’ to Fight Against Coronavirus in Brazil, says The Lancet

By BBC Brasil • Translation by Rachel Brabbins • May 13, 2020

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese on BBC News Brazil click here. This is our latest article on the new coronavirus as it impacts Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. A harsh editorial published on […]

#CoronavirusWatch

Coronavirus in the Daily Life of Favelas, Part 3: Favela do Aço’s Resistance in the Face of Adversity

By Moanan Costa do Couto, Rayane Marques da Silva Gomes • April 22, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This article from Favela do Aço, is the third in a series about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on daily life in the favelas. The series is made possible through […]

#CoronavirusWatch

Amid Pandemic, Rio’s Favela Residents Struggle to Put Food on the Table

By Gustavo Goulart, Rafael Galdo, Rafael Nascimento de Souza • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • April 11, 2020

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Gustavo Goulart, Rafael Galdo, and Rafael Nascimento de Souza published in Extra click here. This is our latest article on the new coronavirus as it […]

#CoronavirusWatch

Coronavirus: Income Falls for 7 in 10 Families in Brazil’s Favelas

By Rodrigo Caetano • Translation by Dylan Blau Edelstein • March 27, 2020

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Rodrigo Caetano published in Exame click here. This is the fourth article in what will be a spotlighted issue on RioOnWatch for the foreseeable future: the […]

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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

  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
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  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
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    • 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
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
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    • Translated Articles
  • About
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