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Latest News
  • [ December 4, 2025 ] Portrait of a Centenary-Old Favela of Stilt Houses: Belém’s Vila da Barca Resists, Organizes and Fights for Sanitation and Adequate Housing #HousingWatch
  • [ November 30, 2025 ] The Story of Dona Pascoalina, Midwife and Healer of Morro do Borel by Community Contributors
  • [ November 15, 2025 ] ‘There’s No Such Thing as Normal After a Massacre’: One Week After Police Mega-Operation Kills 121 People, Residents From Complexos do Alemão and Penha Speak Out #UPPWatch
  • [ November 13, 2025 ] ‘Human Beings Forget That They Are Nature’: Favelas Teach the Path to the Future at the 2nd Favela Sustainability Festival Civil Society
  • [ November 12, 2025 ] Food Sovereignty and Culinary Heritage Connect with Fight for Climate Justice at the 2nd Sustainable Favela Festival Civil Society
HomeWritersSam Salvesen

Writer: Sam Salvesen

#GentrificationWatch

War of Places: The Colonization of Land and Housing in the Financial Era [BOOK REVIEW]

By Sam Salvesen • March 4, 2016

For more than six years Dr. Raquel Rolnik toured the world as Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing for the UN Human Rights Council, obtaining testimonials and observing the striking shift in the concept of housing […]

Rio de Janeiro mayor-elect Eduardo Paes
#EvictionsWatch

City Government Lays Pressure on Vila Autódromo with Eight Months to Rio’s Olympic Games

By Sam Salvesen • December 22, 2015

Clique aqui para Português “If you don’t leave out of love you will leave out of pain.” This was the message from the Sub-Mayor of Barra da Tijuca, Alex Costa, according to Vila Autódromo residents still […]

#EvictionsWatch

Determined to Remain, Vila Autódromo Prepares to Build Long-Awaited Daycare Center

By Sam Salvesen • December 16, 2015

Clique aqui para Português Residents, students, and volunteers gathered in Vila Autódromo on Saturday, December 12 to measure the area that will become the community’s daycare center. The daycare, or creche in Portuguese, is a […]

#EvictionsWatch

Dona Mariza Left Homeless After Eviction in Vila Autódromo Next Door to #Rio2016 Olympics

By Sam Salvesen • December 3, 2015

Clique aqui para Português On October 23 agents from the city government carried out the unannounced demolition of five homes in Vila Autódromo, next door to the 2016 Olympic Park. 60 year-old Dona Mariza do […]

#EvictionsWatch

Vila Autódromo Invests in Remaining Public Spaces As Evictions Persist

By Sam Salvesen • November 20, 2015

Clique aqui para Português Last weekend students from two universities joined residents of Vila Autódromo to revitalize the community park, or Parquinho. Participants tied colored ribbons around trees, painted the jungle gym, seesaw and swing-set, and […]

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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.
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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
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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
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
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