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Latest News
  • [ 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
  • [ December 24, 2025 ] ‘No One in Terra Firme Will Sleep Hungry Today!’ Amid Adversity, Belém Favela Initiatives Distribute 2,200 Meals During COP30 With Support from the People’s Summit Solidarity Kitchen *Highlight
HomeFavelas as a Sustainable Model

Favelas as a Sustainable Model

#ParticipationWatch

‘Is Solar Energy in Favelas Possible?’ Debated by Rio’s Sustainable Favela Network [VIDEO]

By Wilson Saiki Junior • Translation by Cormac Whitney Low • June 29, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is our latest article on Covid-19 and its impacts on favelas and in the series of Teach-Ins on Covid-19 in favelas. On June 10, the Sustainable Favela Network’s (SFN)* Solar Energy Working […]

#CoronavirusWatch

Solutions From the Favelas: How Residents Are Acting, Demanding Action Ahead of Covid-19

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Edmund Ruge • April 2, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is the seventh article in what will be a spotlighted issue on RioOnWatch for the foreseeable future: the new coronavirus as it impacts Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. This article is […]

*Highlight

Letter Defends Microgeneration of Solar Energy in Rio de Janeiro Favelas

By Organizations that work with distributed energy in Rio communities • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • January 22, 2020

Clique aqui para Português The following letter, sent December 30, 2019 by civil society organizations in Rio de Janeiro dedicated to the expansion of solar energy in low-income communities in the city, is a response […]

#HousingWatch

The Favela as a Role Model for Self-Organizing Communities in Berlin

By Robin Hüppe • October 28, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Living in Berlin means bearing witness to ubiquitous and varied self-made, everyday urbanism in all corners of the city. Pop-up markets, stores, street vendors, street musicians and performers, alternative cultural centers, […]

Civil Society

Virada Sustentável 2019 Event Promotes Sustainability in Favelas and Peripheries

By Clara Ferraz, Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Nadine Terasa • October 18, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Right now, from October 17 to 20, Rio de Janeiro is hosting another edition of Virada Sustentável (Sustainable Turn), an annual sustainable lifestyle event that takes place in cities throughout Brazil, […]

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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
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
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  • Communities
    • Central
    • South 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
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