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  • [ October 29, 2026 ] Favela Leaders Confronting the Climate Crisis In Diverse, Creative Ways Is Top Takeaway From Latest ‘Sustainable Favela Festival’ *Highlight
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HomeSub-Mayor Alex Costa

Sub-Mayor Alex Costa

#EvictionsWatch

Candomblé Priestess from Vila Autódromo Describes the Terror of the Eviction Process

By Heloisa Helena Costa Berto • Translation by Carolyn Oliveira • September 17, 2015

Clique aqui para Português Vila Autódromo evictee, Heloisa Helena Costa Berto, shared the letter she wrote documenting her painful ordeal with the City of Rio, with RioOnWatch. Here it is published in its entirety. Following is an urgent […]

#EvictionsWatch

Vila União Evictees Told There is Not Enough Public Housing for All

By RioOnWatch writers • November 13, 2014

Clique aqui para Português The residents of Vila União de Curicica, a West Zone neighborhood about 1km from the future Olympic site are being threatened with one of the largest evictions yet announced for the 2016 Olympics, and have just […]

#EvictionsWatch

Vila Autódromo Public Defenders Publish Letter in Response to Recent Events

By Adriana Magalhães Bevilaqua, Gabriela Varsano Cherem, Maria Lúcia de Pontes • Translation by Benjamin Parkin, Kate Steiker-Ginzberg • March 28, 2014

Clique aqui para Português Following the events of this week in which the injunction preventing demolitions in Vila Autódromo was overturned by leaders of the Public Defenders’ Office, the public defenders from the Housing and […]

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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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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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Architecture Museum of Vienna
Yale School of Architecture

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