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Latest News
  • [ September 21, 2023 ] Leaders at Ten Cultural Spaces, Art Centers, and Museums in Rio Create Climate Projects Using Culture, Art, and Sustainability by Community Contributors
  • [ September 14, 2023 ] Rio de Janeiro Street Vendors’ Battle for Rights: My Informal Work Matters! [VIDEO] *Highlight
  • [ September 12, 2023 ] ‘Monkeys’: A Transformative Theater Experience Confronting the Reality of Grieving Mothers and the Genocide of Black Brazilians [REVIEW] *Highlight
  • [ September 10, 2023 ] Video Press Release: Favela on Outskirts of Rio de Janeiro Gets Solar! Grassroots Women’s Group Invites Press and Allies to Launch of Photovoltaic System in Duque de Caxias *Highlight
  • [ September 9, 2023 ] The Babilônia Favela’s Solar Energy Tour & Sustainable Favela Network’s Solar Mini-Course [VIDEO] *Highlight
HomeWritersAlex Besser

Writer: Alex Besser

#HousingWatch

‘Of Cities and Slums’: Working Paper Analyzes Role of Favelas in Process of Urbanization [REVIEW]

By Alex Besser • December 20, 2018

How should policymakers view the role of favelas in urban development? What policies can they enact to improve them? These are the core research questions for Alexander Monge-Naranjo, Pedro Cavalcanti Ferreira, and Luciene Torres de […]

*Highlight

Yunus: How to Create a World of Zero Poverty, Unemployment, and Carbon Emissions [BOOK REVIEW]

By Alex Besser, Eli Nemzer • March 26, 2018

Clique aqui para Português In his new book, A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment and Zero Net Carbon Emissions, Nobel Peace Prize-winning author Muhammad Yunus proposes social business […]

#LegacyWatch

‘No Boston Olympics’ Demonstrates Effective Olympics Resistance [BOOK REVIEW]

By Alex Besser • May 20, 2017

Clique aqui para Português No Boston Olympics: How and Why Smart Cities Are Passing on the Torch, written by Chris Dempsey and Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics […]

#Rio2016

Prostitution Policy Watch Looks at Olympics Impact on Rio’s Sex Industry

By Alex Besser • October 13, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Rio de Janeiro’s Prostitution Policy Watch has released their preliminary report looking at the Rio 2016 Olympics’ effect on the city’s sex industry. The organization is made up of professors, researchers […]

#Rio2016

Olympic Tourists Share Perceptions of Rio’s Favelas

By Alex Besser, Natalie Southwick • August 19, 2016

Clique aqui para Português Despite months of doomsday publicity in international media outlets about the Rio Olympics, tourists from around the world have flocked to Rio in the last few weeks for the 2016 Summer Games. […]

Posts navigation

1 2 »

  • ‘Monkeys’: A Transformative Theater Experience Confronting the Reality of Grieving Mothers and the Genocide of Black Brazilians [REVIEW]
    By Cleyton Santanna • Translation by Felicity Clarke • September 12, 2023
  • 8th Black July: Insurgent Media Unites Brazil and Palestine in Fight Against State Violence
    By Amanda Baroni Lopes • Translation by Staff • August 10, 2023
  • Casa Dulce Seixas: The First and Only LGBTQIAPN+ Refuge in the Baixada Fluminense Offers Hope and Transformation
    By João Victor Silva • Translation by Cristina Fornara • June 30, 2023

  • Understanding Energy Justice and Efficiency in Rio’s Favelas [VIDEO]
    By Jaqueline Suarez • Translation by Pilar Boyero • December 13, 2021
  • Pedra Branca and the Energy Dilemmas of Rio’s Urbanization: From Charcoal to Electricity
    By Antonio Alonso, Iamni Torres Jager • Translation by Trisha Ponti • November 1, 2021
  • Energy That Comes From Waste: Biodigester Turns Sewage into Biogas in Vale Encantado Favela [VIDEO]
    By Jaqueline Suarez • Translation by Saskia Wright • August 1, 2021

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

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  • Violations
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  • Organizing
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