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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
Homefree libraries

free libraries

*Highlight

Cerro Corá Residents in Motion: Favela Collective Strengthens Community Through Literacy, Memory, Culture and Film [PROFILE]

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Marina Devine Guzmán • August 6, 2025

Clique aqui para Português In 2013, in the Cerro Corá favela, nestled between the neighborhoods of Cosme Velho and Santa Teresa, in Rio de Janeiro’s South Zone, the Cerro Corá Residents in Motion Collective was […]

#LegacyWatch

One Year After the Olympics: What Remains in Rio and in Complexo do Alemão? [OPINION]

By Cléber Araujo • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • August 18, 2017

Clique aqui para Português What moves afflicted hearts in these days of chaos and insecurity? In the present day, the constant fear and state of panic that everyone lives in is perceptible. A single step […]

#CommunityMedia

Parque Manguinhos Library Will Reopen: A Community Victory

By Renata Dutra • Translation by Rachel Fox • August 3, 2017

Clique aqui para Português “Reading ought to be an act of love,” said Paulo Freire. For residents of Manguinhos, a cluster of favelas in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, the mere existence of a space […]

#CommunityMedia

Occupy Alemão: Youth Collective Fights Against the Criminalization of Public Spaces in Rio’s Favelas

By João Lima • Translation by Lee Weingast • August 18, 2013

Mário Lucas, 18, was brutally murdered by two plainclothes police officers in his own home in Morro da Fazendinha, in Complexo do Alemão on the morning of November 26, 2012. Two days later, a curfew […]

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

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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
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  • Communities
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  • 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
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
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