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Latest News
  • [ May 15, 2026 ] Complex and Intelligent, the Favela Has Its Own Geography Favela Qualities
  • [ May 14, 2026 ] ‘This Is Where My Life Began:’ Residents of Santa Teresa Occupation Claim Right to Stay in Talks With Federal Heritage Secretariat #EvictionsWatch
  • [ May 13, 2026 ] 10 Years After Rio’s Most Notorious Pre-Olympic Forced Eviction, Women-Led Collective Action Preserves the Memory of Vila Autódromo #LegacyWatch
  • [ May 9, 2026 ] Data Centers, AI and the Social Costs for Rio de Janeiro: What Does It Mean in Practice to Become a Big Tech Hub? [EDITORIAL] #LegacyWatch
  • [ April 28, 2026 ] The Who and Why of Sustainability: Without Retraining, Waste Pickers Have Been on Losing End of Greenwashing 14 Years After Closing of ‘Waste Land’ Dump *Highlight
Homecultural preservation

cultural preservation

*Highlight

Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Parque Lage: The Continued Need for Resistance and Struggle

By Carolina Medina Zárate • Translation by Ava Rose Hoffman • May 2, 2019

Clique aqui para Português On April 13 and 14, the largest indigenous cultural event in Rio de Janeiro took place: Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Parque Lage. In partnership with the Parque Lage School of Visual […]

*Highlight

‘Badalados and Badaladas’: City of God’s Famous ‘Bate-Bola’ Carnival Clowns [IMAGES]

By Jota Marques • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • March 3, 2019

Clique aqui para Português  Horror or revelry? There is a bit of both in the history of the emergence of carnival clowns known as bate-bolas (“ball-hitters”). At once scary and performative, historians date their origins to the […]

#EvictionsWatch

Anything but ‘Urban Garbage’: Indigenous Resistance, Survival, and Resurgence in Rio de Janeiro

By Désirée Poets • January 12, 2019

Clique aqui para Português On January 4, O Globo reported on the assertion by state representative Rodrigo Amorim (of the far-right Brazilian Social Liberal Party–PSL) that Aldeia Maracanã—an urban indigenous community (aldeia means “village”) in Rio de Janeiro—is […]

Photo by Ian de Farias
*Highlight

Over 130 Emboldened at Launch of Rio de Janeiro’s Sustainable Favela Network

By Jessica Goodenough, Marc Cho • December 28, 2018

Clique aqui para Português  The Sustainable Favela Network (SFN) is a project of Catalytic Communities (CatComm)* designed to build solidarity networks, bring visibility, and develop joint actions to support the expansion of community-based initiatives that strengthen environmental sustainability and […]

#CommunityMedia

‘Can You See That I’m Black?’ Racism Loses Ground to Recognition of Blackness in Rio’s Favelas

By Ana Paula Souza, Bruno Sousa, Laerte Breno, Thaynara Santos • Translation by Leila Lak • December 27, 2018

Clique aqui para Português For the original article in Portuguese published by Agência Narra, click here. Reporting by Ana Paula Souza, Bruno Sousa, Laerte Breno, and Thaynara Santos. Edited by Elena Wesley and Pedro Lira. Photos by […]

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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
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  • Violations
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    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
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    • Participation
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    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
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      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
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