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Latest News
  • [ 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
Home“area of risk” designation

“area of risk” designation

#HousingWatch

Rio City Council Launches Inquiry on Flooding and Accountability for Disaster Prevention

By Rachel Mucha • April 2, 2019

Clique aqui para Português In the aftermath of the strong winds, torrential rain, flash flooding and landslides that killed seven people and left a trail of destruction and damage in favelas such as Rocinha, Vidigal, Complexo do Alemão, […]

#GentrificationWatch

Favelas and Landslide Risk: If They Know Their Homes Might Collapse, Why Do They Build There?

By Rafael Chaves • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • March 4, 2019

Clique aqui para Português This article by geographer Rafael Chaves* sheds light on the dynamic of the Rio de Janeiro government’s alignment with the city’s financial elite in its occupation of urban space, and the […]

Membros da Comissão visitam casas de moradores
#EvictionsWatch

Still Threatened With Eviction, Rio das Pedras Shifts Focus, Offering Basic Services Where City Fails

By Tyler Strobl • February 25, 2019

Clique aqui para Português During a February 13 appearance on TV Globo, Mayor Marcelo Crivella was prompted to discuss the situation in Rio das Pedras, a West Zone community that was among the many Rio de Janeiro neighborhoods […]

#EvictionsWatch

Called ‘Invaders,’ Century-Old Trapicheiros Favela Mobilizes to Shift Narrative and Affirm Rights

By Tyler Strobl • February 12, 2019

Clique aqui para Português In early October 2018, residents of Trapicheiros—a small favela of 52 families situated near Salgueiro in Tijuca, in the North Zone of Rio—began receiving messages of harassment from strangers on the Internet. […]

#CommunityMedia

Rains in Rio: Responses from Mayor Crivella and Governor Witzel and Accounts from Favela Residents

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Ava Rose Hoffman, Tara Mittelberg • February 11, 2019

Clique aqui para Português On Wednesday, February 6, a year and a day after the 2018 summer rains began, another storm devastated the city of Rio de Janeiro. The traditional and intensifying summer rains were […]

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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
    • West Zone
    • 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
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