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  • [ 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
  • [ April 14, 2025 ] ‘I Was Up All Night, Like Every Summer’: Storm Deepens Climate Anxiety and Sparks Outrage Among Favela Residents Across Greater Rio de Janeiro, Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia #MediaWatch
  • [ April 7, 2025 ] ‘Temporary’ Housing in Santa Cruz Turns 60: Reflecting on Cesarão, the First Housing Complex, and Favela do Aço #EvictionsWatch
HomeWritersMelissa Cannabrava

Writer: Melissa Cannabrava

urgent
#CommunityMedia

Military Police Break Cell Phone of Voz das Comunidades Team During Operation in Alemão

By Melissa Cannabrava • Translation by Ikrom Alajoulin • January 13, 2021

Clique aqui para Português An intense shootout in Complexo do Alemão, in the area known as Area 5, frightens residents, who reported shots since 8am this Wednesday (January 13). The police armored vehicle (caveirão) headed […]

#CommunityMedia

Rio Issues Crisis Alert After Devastating Torrential Rain, Rocinha and Vidigal Hard Hit [VIDEO]

By Karen Melo, Melissa Cannabrava • Translation by Dylan Blau Edelstein, Habib Msallem • February 8, 2019

Clique aqui e aqui para Português After recording the highest temperatures in nearly a century during the month of January, the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region was inundated by a torrential storm causing landslides, destroying […]

#CommunityMedia

Alemão Residents Make Waves With Their Own Comedy Channel, With International Viewers [VIDEO]

By Melissa Cannabrava • Translation by Cara D’Rosario • September 8, 2015

Clique aqui para Português For the original in Portuguese, by Melissa Cannabrava, published in Voz das Comunidades, click here. The actors behind the characters ‘100g’ and ‘Jurubeba’ aim for success and hope to show there is much more […]

#EvictionsWatch

Families Removed from Skol Community in Alemão Await Homes Promised Nearly 5 Years Ago

By Melissa Cannabrava • Translation by Wendy Turner • June 9, 2015

For the original in Portuguese by Melissa Cannabrava, published in Voz das Comunidades, click here.  “We only want what was promised!” The hundreds of families that were removed from the community known as Favelinha da […]

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.
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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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    • South Zone
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  • 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
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    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
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    • Research & Analysis
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    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
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    • License
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