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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
Homelaje (rooftop/terrace)

laje (rooftop/terrace)

Carlos Augusto Jacob plays guitar on his rooftop on the Tabajaras hill. Photo: Gabriel de Paiva / Agência O Globo
#CoronavirusWatch

Favela Residents, Confined to Homes, Use Rooftops as Offices and Even Gyms

By Geraldo Ribeiro • Translation by Cormac Whitney Low • April 12, 2020

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Geraldo Ribeiro published in Extra click here. This is our latest article on the new coronavirus as it impacts Rio de Janeiro’s favelas and in partnership […]

#EvictionsWatch

Temer’s Land Regularization Law, One Year On: Assessing the Impact on Favelas

By Ezra Spira-Cohen • August 17, 2018

Clique aqui para Português In July 2017, federal lawmakers transformed the controversial Provisional Measure 759 into Law 13.465—known as the Land Regularization Law—approving measures that streamline the process of land regularization in urban and rural areas. […]

*Highlight

‘The Favela Is Sending Its Message!’ Alemão Poetry Slam Celebrates Its First Anniversary [IMAGES]

By Antoine Horenbeek, Edmund Ruge • June 6, 2018

Clique aqui para Português Rhymes echoed down Complexo do Alemão’s Central Avenue on Sunday night, May 27 as dancers, poets, and rappers convened to celebrate the one year anniversary of Slam Laje, Alemão’s first poetry […]

*Highlight

Anitta’s Global Hit ‘Vai Malandra’ Music Video In Context: Favela Funk and Passinho

By Lucy McMahon • January 17, 2018

Clique aqui para Português The December sun beats down on a vividly painted school playground, where several teenagers are going through the fast steps of a passinho phrase. They pause to teach each other, to […]

#GentrificationWatch

The Maputo-Rio Connection Part 2: The Common Challenges of Regularization and Gentrification

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Rachel Brabbins • October 20, 2017

Clique aqui para Português This is the second article in a three-part series on the connections between Rio de Janeiro’s favelas and Maputo’s caniços, focusing on history, land regularization, and culture. In Maputo, the capital […]

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.

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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
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  • Communities
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  • Policies
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    • 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
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