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Latest News
  • [ May 24, 2025 ] The Story Behind Brazil’s First Favela Museum—The Maré Museum—Started With a Community Network and Oral Histories in the 1990s by Community Contributors
  • [ May 22, 2025 ] From Local Conferences to COPs, Decision-Making on Climate Excludes Those Who Hold Critical Knowledge and Are Most Impacted: Indigenous Peoples and Informal Settlements [OPINION] *Highlight
  • [ May 16, 2025 ] Rio’s New ‘Extreme Rainfall Vulnerability Index’, Rio 60ºC, Shows 600,000 Homes at High Risk of Landslides or Flooding *Highlight
  • [ 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
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#Rio2016

In the Shadow of the Hill: Film Explores Police Violence and Community Organizing in Rocinha [FILM REVIEW]

By Laura Fairman • October 10, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Dan Jackson’s 2016 feature-length film In the Shadow of the Hill humanizes the very real changes imposed on residents of Rocinha as the city prepared to host the 2014 World Cup […]

Film Reviews

UN Documentary Profiles Sustainable Micro-Businesses in Rio de Janeiro [FILM REVIEW]

By Jessica Summerhayes • October 2, 2016

Clique aqui para Português On September 21, a new documentary featuring sustainable initiatives in Rio de Janeiro premiered at the Odeon cinema in downtown Rio. CenaRIO Sustentabilidade em Ação (ScenaRIO Sustainability in Action) was made by […]

#EvictionsWatch

Olympia Film Mixes Doc and Fantasy to Tell Story of Corruption in Rio de Janeiro [FILM REVIEW]

By Sarah Cronin • September 10, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Olympia is a jarring new documentary-fiction film that explores the nature of corruption in the lead up to the 2016 Olympic Games. Inspired by the work of investigative journalist Lucio Vaz and real events in […]

Favela Culture

Gira and the Circus of Life: Circus Arts and Social Transformation in Praça Onze [FILM REVIEW]

By Alix Vadot • August 30, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Part of Rise Up & Care’s Reimagine Rio Festival, the film Gira and the Circus of Life (Portuguese title No Risco do Circo no Risco da Vida) directed by Kátia Lund and […]

#HousingWatch

The Fighter: Rio’s Vila Autódromo Favela Fights Olympic Bulldozers [FILM REVIEW]

By Ciara Long • July 29, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Documentary film The Fighter tells the story of Vila Autódromo, the favela that borders the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, through the eyes […]

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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.
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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
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • 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
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

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