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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
Homeinfrastructure

infrastructure

"Brizolão" CIEP Ministro Gustavo Capanema, in Vila dos Pinheiros, has been closed for construction for around 900 days. The school's students have been forced to attend the nearby Marielle Franco Municipal School, in an improvised and reduced manner.
*Highlight

Closing of Critical High School Leaves Maré Favela Students Without Classes on 100th Birthday of Darcy Ribeiro and Leonel Brizola

By Lourenço Cezar • Translation by Ethan Kaimana • July 19, 2022

Clique aqui para Português At least 389 people have died from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the favelas of Maré in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone. As reflected on the Covid-19 in Favelas Unified Dashboard*, […]

Morro do Sereno original illustration
*Highlight

Electricity in Numbers: A Deep Dive into Energy Access, Public Lighting, and Security in the Favela of Morro do Sereno

By Karina Figueiredo • Translation by Constance Malleret • July 23, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. This piece presents the results of a study carried out in the field, on the structure of […]

Electricity is not a Social Right Cover Art
by Community Contributors

In Brazil, Electricity Is Not a Social Right

By Michel Silva • Translation by Clau Guimarães • June 18, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. Months ago, residents of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela, Rocinha, created a WhatsApp group to denounce power […]

Original artwork by Rodrigo Binarts
*Highlight

Voices from Niterói’s Palmeira Favela Describe Exorbitant Cost of Electricity Amid the Pandemic

By Mayara Pereira • Translation by Constance Malleret • May 20, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. It is also part of a series created in partnership with the Center for Critical Studies […]

*Highlight

‘Pavuna’s Little Market’: A Rio de Janeiro Black Cultural Heritage Hotspot [PODCAST]

By Ingra Maciel • Translation by Zaira Apolinario Chaplin • April 30, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, “Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro.” Follow our Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas […]

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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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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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  • Organizing
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  • Content Map
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