My research on urban inequality and informal settlements, developed through projects such as The Olympic Legacy of Rio 2016: A City for Whom? (7 - 9 November 2018), achieved direct impact at the international policy level through my invited presentation at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva. In November 2018, I presented this research at the United Nations Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) invitation-only conference, Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World. This was a closed, invitation-only event, and my work on favelas, forced removals and housing insecurity contributed to high-level discussions feeding into the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, reinforcing the relevance of favela-based, community-led evidence in global urban policy debates.