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Latest News
  • [ January 29, 2026 ] ‘It’s the Place of Resistance of Our Existence’: Duque de Caxias’ Culture Manor is a Hub for Art, Education and Leisure by Community Contributors
  • [ 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
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Civil Society

Mutirão 50: A 1980s Model in Mutual Aid, Self-Management, Micro-Urbanism and Collective Land Ownership in Fortaleza, Northeast Brazil

By Yves Cabannes and Beatriz Terra • Translation by Fred Hanson • April 13, 2023

Clique aqui para Português This article is based on a conversation with Yves Cabannes, Professor Emeritus at University College London (UCL), advisor to the Mutirão 50 Project, which began in the late 1980s in Fortaleza, […]

#HousingWatch

New Paths for Building Sustainable Cities: The Potential of Collective Land Management Based on the Community Land Trust

By Felipe Litsek • Translation by Isaac Goodwin • November 27, 2022

Clique aqui para Português As part of the UN’s Urban October’s Urban Circuit 2022 and World CLT Day 2022, the Favela Community Land Trust Project* held the webinar ‘New Paths for Building Sustainable Cities: The Potential […]

#HousingWatch

First Law of Its Kind Outlines Provisions to Establish Community Land Trusts in Brazil [RELEASE]

By Favela-CLT Project • Translation by Clau Guimarães • August 31, 2022

Clique aqui para Português Over their 50 years, Community Land Trusts have become a global instrument to realize the right to housing, and their potential is increasingly recognized in Brazil. The São João de Meriti […]

Civil Society

Popular Conference on the Right to the City: Advocacy for a Unified Brazilian Agenda of Urban Struggles

By Tarcyla Fidalgo • Translation by Ethan Kaimana • July 27, 2022

Clique aqui para Português The Popular Conference on the Right to the City took place from June 3-5 bringing together over 500 representatives from social movements, civil society organizations, favela leaders and researchers from across […]

*Highlight

Researchers Trace Three Ways of Looking at Energy Justice [REFERENCE]

By Katharine Desgans • December 11, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This article introduces a series about energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. There have long been different ways to compare energy systems. Most conventional metrics focus on cost: how much […]

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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
    • Understanding Rio
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  • Communities
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    • 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
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
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    • License
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