Latest News
- [ July 16, 2026 ] In the Context of Climate Overshoot, ‘Cities Are the Crucible and Fire That Drive the Change We Need, and That Change Will be Realized Through Housing,’ Says IPCC Coordinating Lead Author Civil Society
- [ July 14, 2026 ] ‘There Is No Climate Justice Without Adequate Housing,’ Argue Leaders at First Brazilian Housing and Climate Forum *Highlight
- [ July 13, 2026 ] Rio de Janeiro’s ‘Milícias’—Vigilante, Off-Duty Police Gangs—Are Not a Parallel Power: They Are the State at Work [BOOK REVIEW] #UPPWatch
- [ July 7, 2026 ] Eco Ableism in Favelas: People with Disabilities and Atypical Families Speak Out About Challenges, Routines and Survival Strategies *Highlight
- [ June 30, 2026 ] 10 Years Later: Rio 2016 Olympics Served to Consolidate Speculative Plan Rejected by Pioneering Brazilian Urban Planner Lúcio Costa #LegacyWatch
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#HousingWatch
Latest Articles
Civil Society
In the Context of Climate Overshoot, ‘Cities Are the Crucible and Fire That Drive the Change We Need, and That Change Will be Realized Through Housing,’ Says IPCC Coordinating Lead Author
By Debra Roberts • July 16, 2026
Held at UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from June 21–24, the 2026 Innovate4Cities Conference (I4C26) brought together city leaders, researchers, policymakers, civil society organizations and community representatives from around the world to discuss practical solutions […]
*Highlight
‘There Is No Climate Justice Without Adequate Housing,’ Argue Leaders at First Brazilian Housing and Climate Forum
Clique aqui para Português The climate crisis is often framed around floods, landslides and heat waves produced by extreme weather. For those living in Brazil’s favelas and peripheral areas, protection thus begins with safe housing […]
#UPPWatch
Rio de Janeiro’s ‘Milícias’—Vigilante, Off-Duty Police Gangs—Are Not a Parallel Power: They Are the State at Work [BOOK REVIEW]
Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on the 2026 Brazilian elections, focusing on the perspectives of Greater Rio’s favelas. In the book Como Nasce um Miliciano? (How Is a Militiaman […]
*Highlight
Eco Ableism in Favelas: People with Disabilities and Atypical Families Speak Out About Challenges, Routines and Survival Strategies
Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the favelas […]
#LegacyWatch
10 Years Later: Rio 2016 Olympics Served to Consolidate Speculative Plan Rejected by Pioneering Brazilian Urban Planner Lúcio Costa
Clique aqui para Português This article is part of our series reflecting on the impacts of mega-events on Rio de Janeiro 10 years after the 2016 Olympic Games. It is part of a series of reports […]
#HousingWatch
Housing at the Center: What the World Urban Forum Teaches Us About Urgency, Climate and Invisibility [OPINION]
Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Camila Jordan published in Observatório do Terceiro Setor, click here. In May of this year, Baku, Azerbaijan, hosted the 13th World Urban Forum—the largest global event […]
#LegacyWatch
30 Years Since the First Promises and 10 Years After the Olympics, the Cleanup of Guanabara Bay Remains Rio’s Main Challenge
Clique aqui para Português This article is part of our series reflecting on the impacts of mega-events on Rio de Janeiro 10 years after the 2016 Olympic Games. It is the first in a series […]
#UPPWatch
Study Shows that Violence Violates the Right to Education in Rio de Janeiro: ‘More Shots, Fewer Classes; Fewer Classes, More Criminals’
Clique aqui para Português In Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, leaving home to go to school can mean navigating an environment marked by uncertainty. On days of police operations or armed confrontations, the journey to […]
#EvictionsWatch
Cruzada São Sebastião—70 Years of Public Housing in the Heart of Rio de Janeiro’s Upscale South Zone Neighborhood of Leblon
By Flavia Leone, Lohana Campos, Rafael Soares Gonçalves • Translation by Ujwala Murthy • June 15, 2026
Clique aqui para Português For much of the 20th century, between the shores of the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon and Rio de Janeiro’s Leblon neighborhood, stood one of the largest favelas in the city’s upscale […]
Favela Voices from Social Media
Violent Rains Ravage Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas—Causing Floods and Landslides Ahead of Carnival—Show #VoicesFromSocialMedia
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A Massacre! Rio de Janeiro’s Deadliest Police Operation Sparks Mourning, Fear and Outrage in the Favelas, Across the City, Brazil and Around the World Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia
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‘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
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Brazil on Fire—From Forests to Cities, Including Rio de Janeiro: A 104% Dry Season Surge in Fires Since 2023 Marks a Clear Climate Crisis Tipping Point Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia
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Rain Becomes Synonymous With Fear Amid Absence of Climate Action, Say #VoicesFromSocialMedia
Videos: Favelas 101
What is a Favela?
Favela as a Sustainable Model
What is a Favela Community Land Trust?
Videos: Human Rights
Rio de Janeiro Street Vendors’ Battle for Rights: My Informal Work Matters
Just One More Step on My Journey: Youth Talk About the Favela During the Pandemic
Quilombo dos Palmares: Living Resistance
Videos: Climate Justice
Favela on Outskirts of Rio Gets Solar! Grassroots Women’s Group & SFN Launch Photovoltaics
Favela Climate Memory Circles 2023—Voices from Maré, Rocinha, Antares, PPG and Vidigal
Get to Know the Course: ‘Researching and Monitoring Water and Energy Justice in the Favelas’
Climate Justice
Civil Society
In the Context of Climate Overshoot, ‘Cities Are the Crucible and Fire That Drive the Change We Need, and That Change Will be Realized Through Housing,’ Says IPCC Coordinating Lead Author
By Debra Roberts • July 16, 2026
Held at UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from June 21–24, the 2026 Innovate4Cities Conference (I4C26) brought together city leaders, researchers, policymakers, civil society organizations and community representatives from around the world to discuss practical solutions […]
*Highlight
Eco Ableism in Favelas: People with Disabilities and Atypical Families Speak Out About Challenges, Routines and Survival Strategies
Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the favelas […]
*Highlight
World Environment Day Rally in Rio de Janeiro Demands a ‘Sustainable Future With Thriving Forests, Clean Air, Water and Land for All and More Humane Urban Mobility’
Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the favelas […]
Housing Rights
Civil Society
In the Context of Climate Overshoot, ‘Cities Are the Crucible and Fire That Drive the Change We Need, and That Change Will be Realized Through Housing,’ Says IPCC Coordinating Lead Author
By Debra Roberts • July 16, 2026
Held at UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from June 21–24, the 2026 Innovate4Cities Conference (I4C26) brought together city leaders, researchers, policymakers, civil society organizations and community representatives from around the world to discuss practical solutions […]
*Highlight
‘There Is No Climate Justice Without Adequate Housing,’ Argue Leaders at First Brazilian Housing and Climate Forum
Clique aqui para Português The climate crisis is often framed around floods, landslides and heat waves produced by extreme weather. For those living in Brazil’s favelas and peripheral areas, protection thus begins with safe housing […]
#HousingWatch
Housing at the Center: What the World Urban Forum Teaches Us About Urgency, Climate and Invisibility [OPINION]
Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Camila Jordan published in Observatório do Terceiro Setor, click here. In May of this year, Baku, Azerbaijan, hosted the 13th World Urban Forum—the largest global event […]
Human Rights
#HousingWatch
Housing at the Center: What the World Urban Forum Teaches Us About Urgency, Climate and Invisibility [OPINION]
Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Camila Jordan published in Observatório do Terceiro Setor, click here. In May of this year, Baku, Azerbaijan, hosted the 13th World Urban Forum—the largest global event […]
#GentrificationWatch
‘We Belong to the Land’: An Interview With John Mussington on the Urgency of Learning from Barbuda’s Communal Land System [VIDEO]
By Marj Osagie • May 27, 2026
Clique aqui para Português In April 2026, Barbudan environmentalist, community leader and activist John Mussington visited Rio de Janeiro for the 2026 Global Community Land Trust Peer Exchange organized by Brazil’s Favela Community Land […]
#UPPWatch
There’s Blood in the Palmeiras Favela: The Cry for Help Police Chose Not to Hear in São Gonçalo’s Salgueiro Favela Complex
Clique aqui para Português The Palmeiras community, in Complexo do Salgueiro, a cluster of favelas in the Greater Rio municipality of São Gonçalo, became the scene of a crime that exposes the brutal face of […]
Energy Justice
*Highlight
Understanding Energy Justice and Efficiency in Rio’s Favelas [VIDEO]
Watch the video that summarizes the Energy Justice and Efficiency Series with English subtitles here: Clique aqui para Português This article and the video above offer a summary and conclusion to the series ‘Energy […]
*Highlight
Pedra Branca and the Energy Dilemmas of Rio’s Urbanization: From Charcoal to Electricity
Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. It is also the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, “Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing […]
*Highlight
Energy That Comes From Waste: Biodigester Turns Sewage into Biogas in Vale Encantado Favela [VIDEO]
Clique aqui para Português This English subtitled documentary is the latest contribution to our series on energy justice and efficiency in Rio’s favelas. It is also part of a series created in partnership with […]
Podcasts
*Highlight
Between the Political Right and Left, I Choose the Quilombo! [OPINION]
Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our award-winning reporting project, Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro. We hear about “right” and “left” all the time. […]
*Highlight
A Deeply Personal In-Depth Account of the Typical Racism of Domestic Work in Brazil
Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our award-winning reporting project, Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro. This story, told by writer and former domestic worker […]
*Highlight
I Want To Read Black Authors: When Will We See Proper Representation in Brazilian Schools and Universities? [OPINION]
Clique aqui para Português This is our latest article in a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on climate impacts and affirmative action in […]
From the Archives: 2010-2026
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#UPPWatchStress, Taboo and Hierarchy: Why Rio Military Police Officers Commit Suicide
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#CommunityMediaLetter from Residents of Morro da Providência to the People of Rio
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#UPPWatchAlemão Residents Show Their Strength During Public Meeting on Police Occupation
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#EvictionsWatchBook Maps Forced Eviction of Residents During Eduardo Paes Administration
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#EvictionsWatchWithout Transportation for Minha Casa Minha Vida
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*Highlight‘Intimate Favela’: Portraits of the Inner Lives of Favelas and Their Residents [IMAGES]
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#ParticipationWatchSocial Museology in Vila Autodromo: A New Way of Thinking About Museums
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*Highlight‘Humans of Rio’ — RIO Invisível — Tells Stories of Homeless People of Rio de Janeiro
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*HighlightThe Criminalization of Favelas: Origins of Electoral Fake News About the CPX Acronym and Consequences of its Dissemination
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#CoronavirusWatchThe Fight Against Coronavirus in Brazil’s Indigenous Northern Villages #Brazils Part 2—North