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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

*Highlight

Vale Encantado: An Emerging Example for Sustainable Communities

By Asha Nidumolu • April 27, 2015

Clique aqui para Português RioOnWatch visited Vale Encantado a few weeks ago on an educational visit with Pratt University’s urban planning graduate students. Vale Encantado is part of Alto Da Boa Vista, a region of Rio […]

Residents of Manguinhos took part in Planting Ideas event on Wednesday March 4. Photo by Edilano Cavalcante
Civil Society

“Planting Ideas”: Manguinhos Launches Environmental Awareness Project

By Brooke Parkin • March 11, 2015

Clique aqui para Português On Wednesday March 4 community leaders, environmental activists and young people all from the North Zone community of Manguinhos gathered at the community library to launch the project Plantando Ideias (Planting Ideas). The initiative […]

Favela Culture

A Country Called Favela by Renato Meirelles and Celso Athayde [BOOK REVIEW]

By Andrea Cangialosi • October 7, 2014

Clique aqui para Português Um País Chamado Favela (in English, A Country Called Favela) by Renato Meirelles, president of Data Popular, and Celso Athayde, co-founder of CUFA, examines the accomplishments of favelas and their economic advancements, with analysis of informal housing and its economic power […]

*Highlight

Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture by Justin McGuirk [BOOK REVIEW]

By Sara McTarnaghan • September 27, 2014

Clique aqui para Português In his book Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture, art critic Justin McGuirk takes readers on a ride across the physical and social landscapes of urban Latin America, […]

*Highlight

Greenbuilding Brasil Conference Introduces LEED-UP: Favelas as Models of Urban Sustainability

By Jessica Goodenough • September 20, 2014

Clique aqui para Português Vale Encantado, a favela in the heart of the Tijuca forest, part of the largest urban forest system in the world in the middle of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, was […]

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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

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  • Content Map
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