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  • [ 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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#EvictionsWatch

Vila Autódromo: Target of the Ravenous Appetite of Olympic Construction

By Bernardo Mello • Translation by Jim Shyne • February 25, 2016

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Bernardo Mello in Portuguese published in O Globo click here. Saturday, February 13. A burst water pipe inside the Olympic Park created a quagmire that overflowed into the […]

#EvictionsWatch

Candomblé Priestess in Vila Autódromo Received Death Threats to Make Way for 2016 Olympics

By Heloisa Helena Costa Berto • Translation by Christopher Owens, Emma Platais, Luana Gama • February 23, 2016

Clique aqui para Português This is the second letter sent by Heloisa Helena Costa Berto and published on RioOnWatch. Read her first letter, published on September 17, 2015, here. I have spent the past month […]

#EvictionsWatch

Olympic Park Construction Prevents Candomblé Priestess from Going Home [IMAGES]

By Matias Maxx • Translation by Wendy Turner • February 18, 2016

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Matias Maxx in Portuguese published in VICE click here. Heloísa Helena Costa Berto, Luizinha of Nanã, is an Afro-Brazilian who has devoted herself to candomblé for over 40 years. […]

#EvictionsWatch

Vila Autódromo on the Brink of Violence? Community Awakens to Shock Police and Wall

By David Robertson • January 15, 2016

Clique aqui para Português This Wednesday, January 13, Vila Autódromo woke up around 7 o’clock to find a large number of Rio’s Tropa de Choque (Shock Troops), a police unit specifically used for controlling large public manifestations and […]

#EvictionsWatch

Dona Mariza Left Homeless After Eviction in Vila Autódromo Next Door to #Rio2016 Olympics

By Sam Salvesen • December 3, 2015

Clique aqui para Português On October 23 agents from the city government carried out the unannounced demolition of five homes in Vila Autódromo, next door to the 2016 Olympic Park. 60 year-old Dona Mariza do […]

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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

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