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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
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public space

by Community Contributors

‘We’ll Only Succeed If We Work Together. On Our Own, We’re Weak’: Collective Action Revives Green Space in Complexo da Coreia

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Staff • September 30, 2025

Clique aqui para Português On September 21, Complexo da Coreia, a group of favelas in Senador Camará, in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone, carried out a collective cleanup in the green area of Caminho Anes […]

*Highlight

A Pyramidal Approach to Rio’s Favelas, Part 6: Bridging the Gap, Inclusion, Equity and Self-esteem

By Natalia Meléndez Fuentes • September 28, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This is the final 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 was conceived by the […]

Realengo residents protest against the occupation of the place with condominiums. Photo by: Roberto Moreyra/Roberto Moreyra
#ParticipationWatch

After Long Dispute, Green Space Project ‘100% Realengo Park’ is Approved

By Pilar Boyero • February 25, 2021

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 Project on human rights and […]

Event Reports

Transformation of Basic Sanitation in Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas Debated at Online Teach-In [VIDEO]

By Giovanna Sabini-Leite • July 27, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is our latest article on Covid-19 and its impacts on favelas and in the series of Teach-Ins on Covid-19 in favelas. It’s also part of a series created in partnership with […]

*Highlight

Defeating Social and Urban Barriers: Inequality and Urban Design in Rocinha

By Camilla Piccolo • March 10, 2020

Clique aqui para Português The Lagoa-Barra Expressway separates the favela of Rocinha, located in Rio de Janeiro’s South Zone, from the adjacent, wealthy neighborhood of São Conrado. The noisy two-lane motorway begins in the Miami-like […]

Posts pagination

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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
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  • Communities
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  • Policies
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    • 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
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    • Listicles
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