Havana´s future

Havana is a resilient city. Its urban spaces witness the pass of time while time takes its toll on many buildings. However the city survives because its beauty is permanent and it´s its essence. Its poetry is narrated by everlasting stones, fossils incrustrated in columns and tiles and its marine wind and ambience.

We care about the future of the city because we appreciate its past and its splendor among many other things. We dream of of Havana asa magnetic city that will please Cubans while it attracts people from all over the world.

The new waterfront of Havana is to redefine its image. The Harbor sector has the potential to revitalize the city by becoming a contemporary commercial and recreational one that takes over the derelict existing one.

For the first time the comprehensive planning of all this area will allow its future redevelopment with lots of public spaces and ammenities, with lots of green areas and a new transportation system based on a light rail that is part of a bigger concept that links the harbor with the rest of the ciy, mosty the ajacent sectors -Old Havana, East Havana and Centro Habana.

The Master Plan for the harbor and East Havana show the attempt to provide a seamless layout with transitional areas and buffer zones. A seafront boulevard allows for a pedestrian friendly ambience where people can relaxnd rest being by the water.

Cuban Chapter of Council for European Urbanism (CEU)

C.E.U. Council for European Urbanism

CUBAN CHAPTER

The CUBAN CHAPTER OF C.E.U. acknowledges and supports the urban traditions of the country and their good practices along centuries with mostly a European influence, thus it is committed to preserve them and apply them to new developments to foster historical continuity.

The CUBAN CHAPTER OF C.E.U. believes that everything is connected with everthing else so it advocates the reconciliation of both human needs and ecological imperatives. It is against the waste of natural and cultural resources derived from sprawl and the erosion of society's built heritage. It is also against any racial, social or cultural segregation and the loss of cultural identity.

The CUBAN CHAPTER OF C.E.U. honors all principles stated in both the Charter for European Urbanism and The Charter of the New Urbanism but incorporates those suitable for our country.

The CUBAN CHAPTER OF C.E.U. perceives itself as part of a long tradition in Urbanism spanning through five centuries with mostly a European influence.

The CUBAN CHAPTER OF C.E.U. is aware that Cuban cities have not undergone the traumatic processes of urban renewal and destruction that most cities in the world have for still intact inner city cores are a distinct Cuban feature to be protected as well as their environs and countryside.

The CUBAN CHAPTER OF C.E.U. stands for the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions, the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, the conservation of natural environments and the preservation of our built legacy.

The CUBAN CHAPTER OF C.E.U. advocates the restructuring of public policy and development practices in order to achieve diverse communities designed for the pedestrian and transit as well as the car.

Christopher Columbus arrived in Cuba on October 28th, 1492 and he was amazed by the natural beauty of the region of Baracoa, in the northern shore of Cuba for after a while he wrote in his diary 'This is the loveliest land ever beheld by human eyes'.

Conquest and colonization came next with the foundation of the first settlements1 —called villas— by Diego Velazquez along the island which had a primitive lay out based mostly on geographical features and strategic and economic criteria as no urban structure existed when the Spaniards came to the island.

An unprecedented process —since the Roman Empire— approached from the standpoint of urban planning followed: cities, towns, and buildings were shaped only with the European settler’s previous experiences and pragmatism that confronted the need for adaptation to the local climate and the availability of materials that were at hand. The progressive assimilation of the urban and architectural models from the old continent helped mold a vernacular style in time that still today informs the country’s highly distinct architectural heritage spanning over five centuries: a variation on the infinite theme of building. This reflects the country’s development and —together with the mark left by immigrants of diverse origins— defines its cultural identity.

Colonial Urbanism
Genius loci is a Roman concept. According to ancient Roman belief every 'independent' being has its genius, its guardian spirit. This spirit gives life to people and places, accompanies them from birth to death, and determines their character or essence.
Christian Norberg-Schulz: Genius Loci, Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture, p.18

The first settlements originally founded in Cuba from the beginning of the XVI century followed no guidelines at all and had a primitive lay out based either upon topography or on any other feature like the existence of a river or of an aboriginal settlement. The Spaniards soon knew that there was no gold in Cuban mines for which they focused on agriculture and introduced kettle in subsequent trips from Spain.

An aspiration for a greener Havana

Concepts and Strategies for the Master Plan for Havana

Concepts and Strategies for the Master Plan for Havana

Waterfront Revitalization

Reinforcement of Polycentric Structure

New Public Transport System

A new image that shows the city’s regeneration and vitality

Infrastructure Upgrading according to modern technology

New Urban Image showing the city’s regeneration and vitality

Increase of Public Space that allows for a greater human exchange

Mixed -Use as for continuing the city’s tradition

Social and Cultural integration

Increase of green areas as an environmental must

(1) A Master Plan for XXI Century Havana is a comprehensive urban project conceived and developed by Professor Architect Julio César Pérez Hernández and his team. It is not an official plan but an individual reflection on the city, its history and its urban evolution and at the same time a proposal for preserving its urban and architectural legacy while creating new economic and urban values for the future.
(2) Julio César Pérez started to think about it and work on it during his year as a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and continued to develop it upon his return to Cuba in 2002 with the subsequent collaboration of several former students of his at the University of Havana who asked to join the project and participate in its development.
(3) For the first time in history the Master Plan for Havana provides a vision for a comprehensive plan and spans from urban planning to urban design. This is demonstrated along the introduction of the present document- as the city’s growth was always based on partial projects- and with the proposal.
(4) This project also takes into account former projects along history and learns from its virtues and failures thus it summarizes not only our own ideas but other professionals’ ideas as well.
(5) This project was not commissioned by anyone, it is a work of love, a professional and human endeavor for the salvation of the city and it has been done for free.
(6) The urban plan expresses the team’s vision for the future - neither the state’s nor the official planning agencies’ - and is not compromised by any foreign institution.
Author: Julio César Pérez Hernández
Ave. 37 No. 6611 San Antonio de los Baños 32500, La Habana, Cuba
e-mail: jcaesar_2002@yahoo.co.uk
website: www.cigarclub.lu/perez
Ownership status:
This document is copyright of the author Julio César Pérez Hernández and may be used only with permission of the author for the following purposes:
By the Council for European Urbanism – Cuba Chapter (CEU – Cuba), under the supervision of Julio César Pérez Hernández (founding Chairman), and by the Council for European Urbanism (CEU), under the supervision of Audun Engh, for specific purposes that should be discussed and agreed between the author and the CEU.

Why a Master Plan for Havana?

Havana, a Caribbean Metropolis with a European influence, was spared the damage of the global urban renewal and overdevelopment of the second half of the 20th century. Even today, it keeps intact its traditional urban fabric. Its unique and appealing spirit stems not only from the well-known quality of its music and rhythms, its vibrant street life and its friendly ambience, but also from its built environment. However, the city’s harmonious juxtaposition of different architectural styles, displayed by an impressive collection of buildings authored by world famous local and international architects, is currently threatened by overdevelopment, sprawl and neglect. A comprehensive Master Plan aimed at preserving the city’s spirit and its historic, urban and architectural legacy has been devised. It is intended to encourage Havana’s future urban and economic development, while respecting its spirit and remaining true to its history, its people’s idiosyncrasies and its landscapes. The plan acknowledges Havana’s readiness for a sensitive change and renovation according to sustainable principles that reconcile human needs with ecological imperatives. It envisions Havana’s survival as an urban place with a strong cultural identity. For the first time, it supplies a comprehensive and long term vision that guarantees total connectivity and a seamless urban layout. The plan deals with the oldest areas by creating buffer zones that grant urban continuity, as well as social and cultural integration.