Brazilian Popular Architecture (APB)
Rainer Hehl is an architect and urban planner. Currently, he directs the Master of Advanced Studies in Urban Design at the ETH, Zürich, where he also runs a theory seminar [...]
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Our Opinion Piece on Brazil Protests in New York Times Debate Forum
Click here for article published in the New York Times Room for Debate Forum on June 19, 2013. Or here for full response. It’s Just the Beginning; Change Will Come to [...]
Morar Carioca
City program established in 2010 run by the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Housing Secretariat to “upgrade all favelas in Rio by 2020,” building on historical [...]
Adverse Possession | Squatter’s Rights
Federal guarantee of the right to adverse possession for the purpose of housing provided via the 1988 Brazilian Constitution, based on the “social function of [...]
RioOnWatch: Our Community News Site
In May 2010, CatComm launched Rio Olympics Neighborhood Watch (RioOnWatch), a program to bring visibility to favela community voices in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics, to [...]
Perceptions Survey
When people think of a “favela,” what comes to mind? From 2011-2013, Catalytic Communities organized an international Favela Perceptions Survey, where people in major [...]
Educational Community Visits
Since 2004 Catalytic Communities has worked with visiting university departments, graduate researchers, journalists, conference goers, and volunteer groups to provide [...]
A Lawyer Responds: What is a Favela?
by Alex Ferreira Magalhães, Professor of Urban and Environmental Law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro The construction of the concept of a favela, specifically [...]
Community Mapping through Transect Walks
A transect map, accomplished through a transect walk, is a tool used by a group undertaking observation-based community improvement, which should include informed community [...]
Our Programs
We’ve been active in Rio’s favelas since 2000. Learn about our work over the years… Past Community Solutions Database (2001-2008) Casa Community Technology [...]