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Latest News
  • [ August 11, 2025 ] ‘O Catarinão’: New Community Newspaper Strengthens Memory and Identity in Jardim Catarina, in Greater Rio de Janeiro’s São Gonçalo #CommunityMedia
  • [ August 6, 2025 ] Cerro Corá Residents in Motion: Favela Collective Strengthens Community Through Literacy, Memory, Culture and Film [PROFILE] *Highlight
  • [ July 31, 2025 ] ‘It Hasn’t Been 35 Days, It’s Been 35 Years’: Mothers of the Acari Favela Massacre Continue to Fight for Justice for Victims of Forced Disappearance *Highlight
  • [ July 30, 2025 ] The Play ‘Pacts to Reforest the Earth’ Portrays 2040 in Rio’s Maré Favela, Where ‘All That Remain Are the Pests and the Power of Ancestral Love’ [REVIEW] *Highlight
  • [ July 29, 2025 ] ‘We Only Have Dignity When the Favela Becomes Sustainable’: Collective Action Preserves Agroforest in Morro da Providência *Highlight
HomeSacopã Quilombo

Sacopã Quilombo

Rocinha. Photo: CatComm/RioOnWatch
*Highlight

A Critical Look at the Double-Standard of Heritage Conservation in Rio de Janeiro: The Case of Horto Florestal [REFERENCE]

By Nathan Bergrin • October 30, 2023

Clique aqui para Português The United Nations still frequently uses the term “slum” synonymously with “informal settlement” to describe where at least 1 billion of the world’s people live. Broadly speaking, “informality” when it comes […]

*Highlight

The Essence of the Favela is Resistance [PODCAST]

By Paulo Gabriel dos Santos • Translation by Constance Malleret • October 22, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, “Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro.” Follow our Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas […]

*Highlight

Sustainable Favelas’ 3rd Annual Meet-Up, Part 3: Launch of Favela Museum and Memory Guide

By Clara Ferraz, Julio Santos Filho • Translation by Mikayla Ribeiro • December 23, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is the third article in a series covering the events of the 3rd Annual Full-Network Meet-Up of the Sustainable Favela Network, which happened online on November 7, 2020.  The Sustainable Favela Network (SFN) […]

*Highlight

26 Favela Museums and Memories Projects Highlighted in New Guide

By Gianna Giordani • December 3, 2020

Clique aqui para Português This is our most recent article in a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles on human rights and […]

#CoronavirusWatch

Quilombo Leaders Reflect on Fights for Land Tenure and Against Exclusion During Pandemic [VIDEO]

By Gianna Giordani • October 9, 2020

Clique aqui para Português Kickstarting UN-Habitat’s 2020 Urban Circuit on October 5, World Habitat Day, Rio de Janeiro’s Sustainable Favela Network (SFN)* hosted the livestreamed panel discussion and teach-in “How Are Rio’s Quilombos Doing During the […]

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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.

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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

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