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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
Home#SecurityUpdate

#SecurityUpdate

#Rio2016

Favela Residents Denounce Olympics Death Toll on Social Media

By Ava Rose Hoffman • August 30, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Between August 5 and 21, over the course of the Olympic Games, 92 shootouts took place in Rio de Janeiro, leaving at least 31 dead and 51 injured due to armed conflict, according […]

#Rio2016

“We Are From Maré. We Have Rights!” Legal Victory, Campaign Amid Intense Police Operations

By Ava Rose Hoffman • July 7, 2016

Clique aqui para Português On July 2, the campaign “We Are from Maré. We Have Rights!” was launched in Vila do João, Complexo da Maré—the first in a series of three events to be held […]

#UPPWatch

Funding Shortage and Increased Violence Amounts to UPP Crisis

By Mariah Barber • April 28, 2016

Clique aqui para Português With less than 100 days to the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio’s Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) program and public security in Rio is in crisis. Although the controversial UPP program has faced setbacks […]

#UPPWatch

UPP Security Crisis As World Cup Approaches

By Felicity Clarke • May 16, 2014

Clique aqui para Português At a time when the world’s eyes are turning to Brazil, and in particular Rio de Janeiro, security concerns could not be more pressing. As northeastern World Cup host city Recife […]

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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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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  • About
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