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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
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police reform

#UPPWatch

Favela Residents Protest Against Police Violence & World Cup Impacts

By Celina Sorboe • June 25, 2014

Clique aqui para Português On June 23, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the police operation in Maré which killed ten people, a demonstration took place starting in the Chapéu-Mangueira favela in Rio’s South Zone. […]

#Rio2016

History of Rio de Janeiro’s Military Police Part 4: Pacifying Police Units

By Patrick Ashcroft • May 1, 2014

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 4 in a four-part series on the History of Rio de Janeiro’s Military Police. Click here for Parts 1, 2, and 3. It seemed as though, between the inauguration of the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) […]

Policies

History of Rio de Janeiro’s Military Police Part 3: Community Policing

By Patrick Ashcroft • March 22, 2014

Clique aqui para Português This is Part 3 in a four-part series on the History of Rio de Janeiro’s Military Police. Click here for Parts 1, 2, and 4. You cannot imagine what government neglect of the […]

Policies

Hard Times in the Marvelous City by Bryan McCann [BOOK REVIEW]

By Nyasha Weinberg • March 3, 2014

Clique aqui para Português In 1978 favela residents, liberation theologians and activists mobilized to successfully defend Vidigal against eviction attempts. Those protesting removal used ingenious methods of resistance. These included providing daily coffees to placate […]

#UPPWatch

Study Finds: Militias Dominate 45% of Rio’s Favelas

By Gustavo Goulart • Translation by Emma Platais • December 7, 2013

For the original in by Gustavo Goulart in Portuguese in O Globo click here. Militias dominate 454 of the 1,001 favelas located in the Rio de Janeiro municipality. This is one of the findings of research carried […]

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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

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  • Content Map
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