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Latest News
  • [ May 24, 2025 ] The Story Behind Brazil’s First Favela Museum—The Maré Museum—Started With a Community Network and Oral Histories in the 1990s by Community Contributors
  • [ May 22, 2025 ] From Local Conferences to COPs, Decision-Making on Climate Excludes Those Who Hold Critical Knowledge and Are Most Impacted: Indigenous Peoples and Informal Settlements [OPINION] *Highlight
  • [ May 16, 2025 ] Rio’s New ‘Extreme Rainfall Vulnerability Index’, Rio 60ºC, Shows 600,000 Homes at High Risk of Landslides or Flooding *Highlight
  • [ May 9, 2025 ] ‘Trash? Not to Us!’ Environmental Action in Rio Public Housing Complex Denounces Municipal Neglect and Proposes Waste Collection as a Source of Income by Community Contributors
  • [ April 30, 2025 ] Sustainable Favela Network Launches Groundbreaking ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition on May 3, Kicking Off Museums Month [RELEASE] *Highlight
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José Martins fights for proper sanitation in Rocinha. Photo by AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo
*Highlight

Water Activist José Martins Looks Back Over Five Decades Living and Organizing in Rocinha [INTERVIEW]

By Claire Jones • March 29, 2017

Clique aqui para Português José Martins de Oliveira, a long-time activist and organizer in Rocinha, and currently co-director of Rocinha Without Borders, marked exactly fifty years since he first came to Rio de Janeiro on March […]

Gilmara helped create gay rights marches in Maré, Alemão, and Rocinha--three of Rio's largest favelas. Photo by: Fabio Teixeira
*Highlight

“Being Gay in a Favela Hasn’t Gotten Easier. We’re Still Fighting for Our Lives.”

By Jefferson Puff • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • February 10, 2016

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Jefferson Puff in Portuguese published by BBC Brasil click here. “In the favela you can’t kiss or walk holding hands. Gays, lesbians and transexuals living in favelas have […]

#CommunityMedia

Fifty Years Fighting for Water Regularization in Rocinha

By Michel Silva • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • October 28, 2014

Clique aqui para Português For the original by Michel Silva in Portuguese, published in Fala Roça, click here. Access to clean water and sanitation is an essential human right, acknowledged most recently and thoroughly in a United Nations Resolution in […]

Policies

A History of Favela Upgrades Part I (1897-1988)

By Catherine Osborn • September 27, 2012

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 1 of a three-part series on the History of Favela Upgrades in Rio. Click for Part 2 and Part 3. Housing rights activists today defend the practice of on-site upgrading of […]

Posts pagination

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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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10 Years! Check Out Our Story:

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
    • Community Organizing
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    • Sustainability
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    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
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    • Series
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    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
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    • Research & Analysis
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  • About
    • Timeline
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