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Latest News
  • [ June 15, 2026 ] Cruzada São Sebastião—70 Years of Public Housing in the Heart of Rio de Janeiro’s Upscale South Zone Neighborhood of Leblon #EvictionsWatch
  • [ June 8, 2026 ] World Environment Day Rally in Rio de Janeiro Demands a ‘Sustainable Future With Thriving Forests, Clean Air, Water and Land for All and More Humane Urban Mobility’ *Highlight
  • [ June 1, 2026 ] Visiting Rio Before July 30th? Don’t Miss ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition at the Favela Museum Overlooking Ipanema: ‘We Learned to Survive So We Can Tell Others How’ *Highlight
  • [ May 31, 2026 ] Rio de Janeiro Evictions Museum Celebrates Ten Years of Art, Memory and Resistance Since the Olympic Games #LegacyWatch
  • [ May 31, 2026 ] Critical Urban Park in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone Is at Risk of Disappearing After Decades of Government Neglect *Highlight
HomeCopacabana

Copacabana

Electricity is not a Social Right Cover Art
by Community Contributors

In Brazil, Electricity Is Not a Social Right

By Michel Silva • Translation by Clau Guimarães • June 18, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. Months ago, residents of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela, Rocinha, created a WhatsApp group to denounce power […]

SOS Gramacho project. Photo by Daiana Contini.
*Highlight

Sustainable Favelas’ 3rd Annual Meet-Up, Part 6: Solid Waste & Favela-University Manifesto

By Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Ikrom Alajoulin • December 29, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is the sixth article in a series covering the events of the 3rd Annual Full-Network Meet-Up of the Sustainable Favela Network, which took place online on November 7, 2020.  The Sustainable […]

One year ago, 2019 Black July united many social movements from the Global South.
#CoronavirusWatch

The Fight for Housing and an Antiracist, Feminist Look at the City [VIDEO]

By Wilson Saiki Junior • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • August 27, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is our latest article on the Covid-19 and its impact on the favelas and part of our series covering 2020’s Black July. As part of 2020’s 5th Annual Black July, a group of women […]

#EvictionsWatch

Favela Leaders and Activists Discuss the Fight Against Evictions During the Pandemic [VIDEO]

By Thomas Maggiola • August 21, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is our latest article covering Covid-19 and its impacts on the favelas. On August 11, the Popular Council, a collaborative network that defends housing rights and fights against evictions in […]

*Highlight

Rio de Janeiro’s Water Crisis is Necropolitics from the Faucet

By Juliana Gonçalves • Translation by Laura Bachmann • February 6, 2020

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Juliana Gonçalves published by The Intercept Brasil click here. Necropolitics doesn’t just happen when Governor Wilson Witzel says to shoot people in their little […]

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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
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  • Communities
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  • Policies
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    • 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
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    • Listicles
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    • Reference
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    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
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