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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
Homecivil society

civil society

*Highlight

In the Favela of City of God, Pioneering Elderly Day Care ‘Casa de Santa Ana’ Has Fought the Isolation and Confinement of Seniors for 30 Years

By Amanda Baroni Lopes • Translation by Yasmin Quaife • August 27, 2025

Clique aqui para Português Established in 1988, initially to offer religious support to a group of 20 elderly residents of City of God, in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone, Casa de Santa Ana (Santa Ana’s […]

#ParticipationWatch

Get to Know Popular Demands for Brazil’s National Urban Policy, Defined During Rio de Janeiro’s 5th Municipal Conference on Cities

By Guilherme Rodrigues Barbosa • Translation by Vasti Cruz • September 30, 2024

Clique aqui para Português On June 29 and 30, 2024, Porto Maravalley, in Rio de Janeiro’s downtown Port Region, hosted the 5th Municipal Conference on Cities, one of the stages of the 6th National Conference on […]

Civil Society

Sustainable Favela Network 6th Annual Full-Network Meet-Up: Youth at the Center [VIDEO]

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Hannah McKenzie • December 23, 2023

 Clique aqui para Português On December 2, 2023, the Sustainable Favela Network’s (SFN)* 6th Annual Full-Network Meet-Up took place at the Irmãos Kennedy Community Center (CCIK) with the presence of community leaders, youth, and […]

*Highlight

Rio de Janeiro Street Vendors’ Battle for Rights: My Informal Work Matters! [VIDEO]

By Vinícius Ribeiro • Translation by Kay Alvito • September 14, 2023

Clique aqui para Português This video-report shares accounts by three street vendors and shows the lived reality of informal workers on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. The video features Maria de Lourdes do Carmo, […]

#GentrificationWatch

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Heavily Amends City’s 10-Year Master Plan In Final Phase, Prompting Intense Criticism from Civil Society

By Favela-CLT Project • Translation by Staff • April 15, 2023

Clique aqui para Português The revision of a city’s master plan concerns all its inhabitants. As the main urban planning law at the municipal level, Rio de Janeiro’s Master Plan will guide the city’s development […]

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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
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    • 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
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    • Listicles
    • Opinion
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    • Translated Articles
  • About
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