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  • [ 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
  • [ April 7, 2025 ] ‘Temporary’ Housing in Santa Cruz Turns 60: Reflecting on Cesarão, the First Housing Complex, and Favela do Aço #EvictionsWatch
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#MarielleLegacy

Five of Slain Councillor Marielle Franco’s Bills Approved in Rio City Council

By Priscilla Mayrink • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • May 6, 2018

Clique aqui para Português On Wednesday, May 2, seven of City Councillor Marielle Franco’s bills went to vote in Rio de Janeiro’s City Council. With the galleries full and incredible public support, five proposed bills […]

#ParticipationWatch

Rio’s Civil Society Rallies Behind ‘Collective Candidacy’ for Public Defenders Office Ombudsman

By Cerianne Robertson • Translation by Suzanne Caflisch • October 19, 2017

Clique aqui para Português This month the State of Rio de Janeiro’s Public Defenders Office is due to select a new General Ombudsman. The position is responsible for “promoting the quality of services delivered to […]

*Highlight

Day 3: ‘Masculinity and Oppression by Sexism’ Emotive Discussion Exposed During ‘Black July’

By Lisa Hollenbach • July 21, 2017

Clique aqui para Português On the third day of the second annual Black July week, marking one year since Black Lives Matter activists visited their counterparts in Rio, the Rio de Janeiro Youth Forum organized a […]

Maré LGBT Theater Group - Photo by Douglas Lopes
*Highlight

Maré Arts Center Hosts First Ever LGBT Cultural Exhibition

By Tyler Strobl • May 22, 2017

Clique aqui para Português The Maré Arts Center was packed this past Thursday as the Theater of the Oppressed LGBT Lab hosted the First Favela LGBT Culture and Citizenship Exhibition. Attendees, ranging from high school […]

Civil Society

Maré’s Vibrant and Historic Civil Society is Organizing

By Benjamin Parkin • April 10, 2014

Clique aqui para Português With the recent military occupation of the Complexo da Maré, Brazilian and international media have turned their attention to this group of favelas in Rio’s North Zone. Yet Maré and its […]

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

  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
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  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North 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
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
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