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Latest News
  • [ May 16, 2025 ] Rio’s New ‘Extreme Rainfall Vulnerability Index’, Rio 60ºC, Shows 600,000 Homes at High Risk of Landslides or Flooding Climate Justice
  • [ 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
  • [ April 20, 2025 ] ‘No One Wants to Hear How Much We Miss Them’: 20 Years After the Baixada Massacre, Families of Victims Report Poor Mental Health and Demand Psychosocial Support from the State #UPPWatch
  • [ April 14, 2025 ] ‘I Was Up All Night, Like Every Summer’: Storm Deepens Climate Anxiety and Sparks Outrage Among Favela Residents Across Greater Rio de Janeiro, Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia #MediaWatch
Home“divided city”

“divided city”

Promotional photo from the documentary, “Rio, Negro”
*Highlight

‘Rio, Negro’ Documentary Presents the Critical Role of Afro-Brazilian Historical Figures and Little Africa in Building Brazil [FILM REVIEW]

By Cleyton Santanna • Translation by Angus Beazley • May 13, 2023

Clique aqui para Português Memories propel us. They shake us from our unquestioning routines. They come out of nowhere, directly connecting past and present, without asking permission, seizing us with possibilities for projecting futures, questioning […]

Photo: Léo Lima/Cafuné na Laje.
*Highlight

Jacarezinho: A History of the Blackest Favela in Rio de Janeiro

By William Reis • Translation by Cormac Whitney Low • June 21, 2021

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by William Reis, Coordinator of AfroReggae, in Veja Rio, click here. The Getúlio Vargas family estate, industrial development of Rio, route for Afro-Brazilians escaping slavery and Tia […]

#MarielleLegacy

The Words of Marielle Franco: Love and Dedication to Justice and the Favela #2YearsWithoutMarielle

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Edmund Ruge • March 14, 2020

Clique aqui para Português On the day that marks the two-year anniversary of the brutal assassination of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, born and raised in the favelas of Maré, RioOnWatch pays homage to […]

*Highlight

A Pyramidal Approach to Upgrading Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas, Part 1: Rethinking Informality Through Placemaking

By Natalia Meléndez Fuentes • January 15, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is the first article in a six-part series on the application of Meléndez’s Pyramid for Favela Upgrading to the city of Rio de Janeiro and its favelas. This pyramidal concept […]

*Highlight

What Future is Rio de Janeiro Building with its Current Public Security Policies? [OPINION]

By Carla Souza • Translation by Ben Bildsten • December 10, 2019

Clique aqui para Português This is the sixth article in a year-long partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University to produce a series of monthly favela-sourced human rights and environment […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 6 »

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.

Contact & Support

contact@rioonwatch.org
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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
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • 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
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

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