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Latest News
  • [ May 22, 2025 ] From Local Conferences to COPs, Decision-Making on Climate Excludes Those Who Hold Critical Knowledge and Are Most Impacted: Indigenous Peoples and Informal Settlements [OPINION] by Community Contributors
  • [ May 16, 2025 ] Rio’s New ‘Extreme Rainfall Vulnerability Index’, Rio 60ºC, Shows 600,000 Homes at High Risk of Landslides or Flooding *Highlight
  • [ May 9, 2025 ] ‘Trash? Not to Us!’ Environmental Action in Rio Public Housing Complex Denounces Municipal Neglect and Proposes Waste Collection as a Source of Income by Community Contributors
  • [ April 30, 2025 ] Sustainable Favela Network Launches Groundbreaking ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition on May 3, Kicking Off Museums Month [RELEASE] *Highlight
  • [ April 20, 2025 ] ‘No One Wants to Hear How Much We Miss Them’: 20 Years After the Baixada Massacre, Families of Victims Report Poor Mental Health and Demand Psychosocial Support from the State #UPPWatch
HomeWritersLaura Bachmann

Writer: Laura Bachmann

Sign posted outside the acquired house lets residents know not to build in this area and marks the future width of the channel.
*Highlight

An Informal Settlement in Puerto Rico Has Become the World’s First Favela Community Land Trust

By Laura Bachmann • April 28, 2017

Clique aqui para Português In San Juan, Puerto Rico, government, residents, and technical professionals created a Community Land Trust (CLT), known locally as Fideicomiso de la Tierra, to preserve and develop informal communities along the Martín Peña Canal. […]

The audience listens to panelists discuss MP 759 at a teach-in on the December 2016 Interim Measure
#GentrificationWatch

At Teach-In, Legal Experts Express Dismay at President Temer’s Regularization Measure

By Laura Bachmann • March 31, 2017

Clique aqui para Português Last Friday, March 24, Urban League Cooperative and others organized a public teach-in on Provisional Measure 759/2016 (MP 759). MP 759, published last December, is a presidential decree stated to facilitate land regularization […]

View from Laboriaux, top of Rocinha
#GentrificationWatch

Brazilian President Issues Executive Order to Regularize Urban and Rural Land, Give Titles to Favelas and Farms

By Laura Bachmann • February 15, 2017

Clique aqui para Português As of December, titling of favelas and other communities on federal land initially occupied without permission across Brazil may have become much easier. Interim Measure 759/2016 was published on December 23, 2016, to facilitate regularization […]

Casa Publica launch
#CommunityMedia

“Favelas in the Media: How the Global Narrative on Favelas Changed in Rio’s Mega-Event Years” Report Launched

By Laura Bachmann • December 29, 2016

Clique aqui para Português On Thursday, December 15, Catalytic Communities (CatComm), the NGO that publishes RioOnWatch, released its report Favelas in the Media: How the Global Narrative on Favelas Changed in Rio’s Mega-Event Years, a study […]

Democracy

A Comparative Introduction to Hate Speech Laws in Brazil and the United States

By Laura Bachmann, Luisa Fenizola • December 20, 2016

Clique aqui para Português This year, hate speech, free speech, and hate crimes have received increased attention in public debate. Incidents of hate speech have increased in the US, where the constitution fiercely protects the […]

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.

Contact & Support

contact@rioonwatch.org
WhatsApp +55.21.991.976.444
USA VOIP +1.301.637.7360

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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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  • Organizing
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  • Content Map
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