• English
  • Português
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
RioOnWatch
  • 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
Latest News
  • [ June 20, 2025 ] Get to Know ‘Gaia Space’, A Network of Women Fighting for Environmental Justice and Obstetric Dignity in Greater Rio de Janeiro by Community Contributors
  • [ June 10, 2025 ] Groundbreaking Oral History Project—‘Favela Climate Memory’—Launches Final Exhibition, Fostering Emotional Connection Between Climate, Nature and Community [Video] *Highlight
  • [ June 7, 2025 ] ‘Being a Black Woman Running a Museum Means Facing the Past, Eye to Eye… It’s Reparation in Motion’: Sinara Rúbia’s Full Speech at Brazil’s 1st Seminar on Anti-Racist Museums *Highlight
  • [ June 5, 2025 ] ‘A Museology That Doesn’t Serve Life Serves No Purpose’: ‘Unconventional’ Favela Museums Lead First Seminar of Rio de Janeiro’s Social Museology Network *Highlight
  • [ June 2, 2025 ] A Product of the 2016 Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro the ‘Evictions Museum’ Unveils New Walking Tour, Reigniting Vila Autódromo’s History and Resistance [IMAGES] #EvictionsWatch
Homeinnovation

innovation

#CoronavirusWatch

This Engineer from the Favelas is 3D-Printing Face Shields to Support His Community

By Edmund Ruge • April 25, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is our latest article on the new coronavirus as it impacts Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. Lucas Lima’s 3D printers sit beside his bed, spread over his desk and several plastic chairs. […]

*Highlight

‘Badalados and Badaladas’: City of God’s Famous ‘Bate-Bola’ Carnival Clowns [IMAGES]

By Jota Marques • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • March 3, 2019

Clique aqui para Português  Horror or revelry? There is a bit of both in the history of the emergence of carnival clowns known as bate-bolas (“ball-hitters”). At once scary and performative, historians date their origins to the […]

Long-time shop keeper in Rio de Janeiro's first favela, Providencia. Photo by Antoine Horenbeek
*Highlight

‘Undervaluation of Informal Sector Innovations’: Paper Argues for Rethinking Methodology [REVIEW]

By Eli Nemzer • February 21, 2019

Clique aqui para Português In a recent paper titled “Undervaluation of Informal Sector Innovations: Making a Case for Revisiting Methodology” published in the African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh of the Center for Studies in […]

#ParticipationWatch

Countdown to Brazil’s 2018 Elections, Part 7: New Technologies Boost Transparency

By Luisa Fenizola • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • September 30, 2018

Clique aqui para Português This is the seventh article in an ongoing series on the Brazilian electoral political scene in 2018. Distinct from political reform movements and alternative candidates aiming to transform the (inevitably partisan) […]

*Highlight

Creative Business: The Unique Driver of Entrepreneurship in Maré

By Thaís Cavalcante • Translation by Jiselle Steele • April 4, 2018

Clique aqui para Português In Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, enterprising residents with their own businesses respond to their neighbors’ needs. In the favela complex of Maré alone, there are over 140,000 residents spread across 17 favelas. Each […]

Posts pagination

1 2 3 »

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
WhatsApp +55.21.991.976.444
USA VOIP +1.301.637.7360

Volunteer | Donate

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

© 2025 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International