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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
Homeexploitation

exploitation

Desenho por Geisa Paganini De Mio
*Highlight

Who Does Favela Research Serve? Residents and Academics Demand Reciprocal Exchange [VIDEO]

By Gianna Giordani • October 26, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is our most recent article in a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil […]

#CoronavirusWatch

Activists Celebrate 13 Years and Debate ‘The Popular Council and the Fight for Housing’

By Thomas Maggiola • July 30, 2020

Clique aqui para Português On July 16, activists involved with the Popular Council, a coalition that defends housing rights and fights evictions in Rio de Janeiro favelas, participated in a debate, broadcast live on Facebook, to […]

*Highlight

Favelization and the Appropriation of Favelas in International Design [BOOK REVIEW]

By Nashwa Al-sharki • October 3, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Design academic Adriana Kertzer was born to an American mother and a first generation Brazilian father. Not fully embraced as a Brazilian or American, Kertzer’s sense of displacement makes her especially sensitive […]

Image from Folha de São Paulo
#CommunityMedia

Jeep Tour Not Well Received by Favela Residents

By Lana de Souza • Translation by Wendy Turner • May 19, 2015

For the original in Portuguese, by Lana de Souza, published in Coletivo Papo Reto, click here. According to residents of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, the presence of Jeep tours in their communities makes them feel like animals […]

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

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  • Content Map
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