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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
HomeWritersElena Hodges

Writer: Elena Hodges

#Rio2016

The Social & Environmental Costs of Rio’s Olympic Golf Course

By Elena Hodges • August 22, 2014

Clique aqui para Português President of the Organizing Committee for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Carlos Nuzman recently remarked that “Rio 2016 is intensifying its relationship with society.” He continued, “The Games will leave a huge legacy for both […]

Favela Culture

Escola Bola: Soccer and Citizenship in Santa Marta

By Elena Hodges • July 30, 2014

On the pitch at the very top of favela Santa Marta, a group of kids play a spirited game of soccer, dribbling and shooting to the sound of bumping funk music. Green netting stretches overhead, covering the pitch […]

*Highlight

World Cup Final Protest Met with Severely Disproportionate Force, Arrests & Police Brutality

By Elena Hodges • July 15, 2014

Clique aqui para Português On the afternoon of the 2014 World Cup final, as Rio’s Maracanã stadium filled with soccer fans, demonstrators congregated just 2km away in the Saens Peña square, in Tijuca, North Zone, regrouping […]

#EvictionsWatch

The World Cup Is Underway. What Has Become of Favela do Metrô?

By Elena Hodges • June 21, 2014

Clique aqui para Português Rio’s Most Brutal Eviction “For the World Cup” The World Cup is well underway, and in Rio the games are being played in the Maracanã Stadium just around the corner from what used […]

#EvictionsWatch

Popular Committee Launches Third Human Rights Violations Dossier

By Elena Hodges • June 15, 2014

Clique aqui para Português The Comitê Popular da Copa e Olimpíadas do Rio de Janeiro (Rio Popular Committee on the World Cup and Olympics), just published its third Mega-Events and Human Rights Violations Dossier. The 173-page report […]

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
    • 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

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