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  • [ December 4, 2025 ] Portrait of a Centenary-Old Favela of Stilt Houses: Belém’s Vila da Barca Resists, Organizes and Fights for Sanitation and Adequate Housing #HousingWatch
  • [ November 30, 2025 ] The Story of Dona Pascoalina, Midwife and Healer of Morro do Borel by Community Contributors
  • [ November 15, 2025 ] ‘There’s No Such Thing as Normal After a Massacre’: One Week After Police Mega-Operation Kills 121 People, Residents From Complexos do Alemão and Penha Speak Out #UPPWatch
  • [ November 13, 2025 ] ‘Human Beings Forget That They Are Nature’: Favelas Teach the Path to the Future at the 2nd Favela Sustainability Festival Civil Society
  • [ November 12, 2025 ] Food Sovereignty and Culinary Heritage Connect with Fight for Climate Justice at the 2nd Sustainable Favela Festival Civil Society
Homeleisure

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*Highlight

City of God’s Kite Festival: Children’s Visions of the Favela’s Future [IMAGES]

By Beatriz Carvalho • Translation by Júlia Hara Medeiros • October 25, 2019

Clique aqui para Português In an increasingly technological world, kite-running remains one of the main sources of entertainment for kids in the favela of City of God, in Rio de Janeiro. With this in mind, […]

*Highlight

Childhood and Collective Learning in the Streets of a Rio Favela

By Gizele Martins • Translation by Leila Lak • September 10, 2019

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese by Gizele Martins published in Portal Aprendiz click here. The streets shaped my childhood more than any other place. The streets are a major communal […]

#EvictionsWatch

Trapicheiros Residents Celebrate Launch of Sustainable Playground and Proposed Regularization Bill

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Cheyne Bull • August 28, 2019

Clique Aqui para Português  On August 10, residents of the small and intimate Trapicheiros favela in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone organized a traditional winter festival “June party” (though this one was organized in August)—to […]

*Highlight

If This UPP Were Mine: With an End to Pacification, Residents Dream of Reoccupying Public Spaces

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Habib Msallem • March 11, 2019

Clique aqui para Português While the failure of the Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) model had already been signaled years ago by residents, researchers, civil society organizations, and Rio’s violence and mortality rates, only in 2018 did […]

*Highlight

‘Suburban Madness’ Carnival Bloco Selects ‘Doctor, I Hear Voices’ as Their 2019 Samba

By Renata Queiroz Ramos • Translation by Dylan Blau Edelstein • February 28, 2019

Clique aqui para Português On February 19, the Suburban Madness Carnival group, or bloco, held an event at the SESC cultural center in Engenho de Dentro, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, to choose the group’s 2019 […]

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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
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North 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
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

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