Havana Parcel

Page 1

Havana Parcel

Domestic Entrepreneurship in Cuba

Havana Parcel

The Landscape of New Cuban Entrepreneurship Scott Shinton + Lucy McFadden Master of Landscape Architecture [2016] University of Virginia

Lucy McFadden Scott Shinton

Untitled-3 1

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Vedado, Havana, Cuba Businesses, June 2015

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 2

3/12/16 5:42 PM


Vedado, Havana, Cuba Businesses, 2011

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 3

3/12/16 5:42 PM


Florida

90 miles

Havana

Cuba

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 4

3/12/16 5:42 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 5

3/12/16 5:42 PM


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We wish to express thanks to following, whose endless support and generosity made this project possible: Carlos Sanchez, Olivia Choi, Julie Bargmann, Raul Cruz Espinoza, Cecilia Nichols, Beth Meyer, Teresa Gali-Izard, Dr. Brian Boom, Virginia Morales Menocal, Adriana Premat, Carey Clouse, Matthew Jull, and the entire community at the University of Virginia School of Architecture.

Lucy McFadden and Scott Shinton are Master of Landscape Architecture candidates at the University of Virginia. They received the Benjamin C. Howland Traveling Fellowship and travelled to Cuba for the month of June in 2015.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 6

3/12/16 5:42 PM


TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction PART I: Methods + History Research Methodology Background Enterprise Timeline Economic Reforms Categorizing Cuban Economies Self Employment Occupations PART II: The Neighborhoods Territories + Prototypes Habana Vieja Centro Habana Vedado Miramar

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 7

3/12/16 5:42 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 8

3/12/16 5:42 PM


INTRODUCTION

In June of 2015, we traveled to Cuba to witness and document a nation in an unprecedented transition – from a socialist to a free-market socialist state, from a Cuba with minimal US relations to an anticipatory post-embargo Cuba. During our time, we encountered a variety of recent augmented physical and social conditions enabled by a 2010 change in policy under the regime of Raul Castro. This research was made possible by the Benjamin C. Howland Traveling Fellowship at the University of Virginia. --It was 6:15pm and finally dusk; we could now saunter through the neighborhood without breaking a sweat. We had perfected the tropical midsummer walk, one where you don’t move your back leg before your front leg has already hit the ground. It’s a methodical, rhythmic slowness by which Cubans live, like swimming through an invisible sea of water molecules. The streets were quiet after vendors had finished selling fruits and vegetables from carts, their melodic yelling “Paaaaaaan! Mantequilla! Ajo! Cebolla! reverberating down streets. The taxis would have gone home, and the only sound that remained was that of familial chatter, televisions projecting out their cool blue glow, flashing onto the pockmarked sidewalks, and clusters of teenagers sitting on stoops, listening to Cuban boy bands and American nineties pop. Summer was upon the city and the kids in the neighborhood were buzzing in the streets with a balmy kind of energy that we became a part of in our own strange way. After a few days of living in Vedado, our research took on a new objective than that which we set out to find. Cafeterias, small fast food eateries for locals, were abundant and contributed to an extremely unique urban fabric which changed as it reflected the existing spatial parameters. We looked closely at the concept of private and public realms interacting, engaging, and creating a new kind of shared space that wasn’t quite either, but took the best of both. While we set out to understand what ‘private’ space signifies and how that space is inhabited, jockeyed, and re-arranged in a country where every-

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 9

3/12/16 5:42 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 10

3/12/16 5:42 PM


thing seems of the government, we left with the knowledge that many ‘private’ spaces across Cuba have been skillfully transformed into profit-based ventures (fig. 5); the relationship between the person on the sidewalk and the homeowner, for example, is now more complex than neighbor or stranger, it is also—much of the time—business-owner and customer. Front yards of colonial homes have been altered to host small cafes serving milkshakes and fried rice. Tiny spaces of vague ownership within dense urban barrios have been commandeered into zapateros (cobblers) or relojeros (watch-fixers). In other spaces, re-used sheet metal fencing hiding the inner-workings of a home’s courtyard is often coupled with the sound of hammers and drills – signs of an black-market construction site of sorts. Much of this private-business-space is relatively new, as Raul Castro drastically altered laws regarding private entrepreneurship in 2010, lowering the tax rate on businesses and offering federal loans. The number of licensed private businesses--and in turn, visible, viable city armatures--in Cuba has increased by over 300% since 2005, from 152,200 to 502,687 self-employed persons, almost 13% of the total working population.

--The U.S. Congress still maintains control over the economic sanctions, and, under the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, it renewed the 1959 embargo and also penalized foreign companies trading with Cuba. The act also covers property formerly owned by Cubans who have since become U.S. citizens. Since President Obama announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, a few changes have occurred: the use of U.S. credit cards, insurance coverage, and bank transactions are now allowed for Americans in Cuba, and U.S. building materials can be shipped to private Cuban companies. Some U.S. investment in small Cuban businesses is permitted, however, the restrictions on free trade between the countries are still in effect. Obama may continue to use executive authority, however, to open U.S.-Cuba trade, investment, banking, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and travel. This will help to create a political dynamic that would begin to shift opinion within Congress and eventually contribute to the repeal of Helms-Burton. Policies are still vague and not public, and through our research we hope to illuminate what we see as valuable contemporarily that supports individuals through small private businesses. ---

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 11

3/12/16 5:42 PM


What is the physical manifestation of a government that does not serve its people, a nation shifting from one method of governing to a different, not necessarily revolutionary one? The precursor to these answers lies in the reaction or niche finding of the underserved people within this transformation; the tactile follows the need, material conditions are altered when social realities are constricted. We approached research in Cuba with a variety of methods; that of the documentation of existing physical conditions through measured drawings, collage, and film, as well as interviews with a wide range of people, from the retired home-gardener, to the recently graduated architect, to the city planner, to the small business owner. We distinctly recorded the specific conditions of spontaneous vegetation, maintained planted form, water flow and infrastructure, ground material quality, building type, and the vertical enclosures of properties of four distinct streets in the four densest neighborhoods of Havana: Habana Vieja, Centro Habana, Vedado, and Miramar. With this information, we were able to systematically compare different neighborhoods and understand how businesses manifest at different scales, urban fabrics, building styles, and populations. --In 1979, Fidel Castro gave a speech about the newfound accountability and responsibility of the Cuban government: “Today, citizens think it is right to expect everything from the state…and they are correct. And this is precisely the result of a collectivist mentality, a socialist mentality…Today, they do not need to rely on their own efforts, and their own means, as in the past.” Just as this declaration was contradicted by the state’s later dependence on individuals to provide their own food with self-provisioning gardens in the nineties, this urban-transformation by way of the individual for the benefit of the city-image and street value is a widespread practice in Havana and other cities. Each one of these ventures signals a weary increased attention yet also reliance on the individual by the state, and each has its own oft-contentious relationship with that body. As laws regarding private businesses continue to loosen, ties with international funders become stronger, and the tourism industry gains a stronghold with US travelers, it is inevitable that many of these vernacular spaces will become something else, be it good or bad for residents, Cuban economics, or the ideals of the Revolution. With our drawings, videos, photographs, and maps, we hope to show the current state of ground up space production and transformation by Cuban people, and how these new spaces add up to a subtle new urban form, yet drastically unique urban experience. ---

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 12

3/12/16 5:42 PM


We aren’t tourists, but we aren’t really students, at least not in this country. We are researchers. Who are we? Are we breaking rules? We are staying at a casa particular, we are eating at cafeterias particulares, we ride in almendrones (cheap old car taxis for Cubans), we ride in the municipal buses, we are roaming, drifting, trying to understand the daily life in our neighborhood. We read on billboards that we are the enemy, that “El bloqueo es el peor tipo de genocide” but when we meet people on the street we are greeted with, “Wow! Americanos! La negociación comienza, la situación mejora! Te gusta Obama?!” and we would reply “Si! Espero que si! Me gusta Obama!” and they would smile and ask “que estado?” “vir-heeen-iya,” “que frio! Tengo un primo en Tampa.” Everyone knew someone who lives in Tampa or Miami. So many brothers, sisters, nieces, sons and daughters, have left.

Lucy McFadden and Scott Shinton

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 13

3/12/16 5:42 PM


Rations | Bodega | Centro Habana

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 14

3/12/16 5:42 PM


Prepared Dishes | Cafeteria | Vedado

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 15

3/12/16 5:42 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 16

3/12/16 5:42 PM


PART I: Methods + History

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 17

3/12/16 5:42 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 18

3/12/16 5:42 PM


METHODOLOGY

1. record existing condition calle field notes 2. conduct neighborhood surveys of business type, state vs. private 3. document spatial configurations of businesses

We approached research in Cuba with a variety of methods; that of the (almost) completely objective documentation of existing physical conditions, interviews with a wide range of people, from the retired home-gardener, to the recently graduated architect, to city planner, to small business owner. While distinctly recording the specific conditions of spontaneous vegetation, maintained planted form, water flows and infrastructure, sidewalk and street breaks, building type, and fence/ barrier type of four streets in the four discrete neighborhoods of Havana -- Vieja, Centro, Vedado, and Miramar – we met many people curious with our blue pens and hundreds of city plans printed on translucent vellum. Many of these people invited us into their homes, invited us into the private spaces of their parcels –their living rooms, kitchens, and back patios that hosted large drifts of oregano in a sliver of earth or dozens of doves that taunted the ground-dwelling pavos and patos. In these moments, we learned about the daily lives of a variety of people from different backgrounds, economic statuses, and living conditions; further, we began to understand diverse occupations of space in a ‘socialist,’ or rather ‘centralist’ state, as Ben Blouse puts it.

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 19

3/12/16 5:42 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 20

3/12/16 5:42 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 21

3/12/16 5:42 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 22

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 23

3/12/16 5:43 PM


CALLE NOTES DECONSTRUCTED (methodology continued)

water

ground

enclosure

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 24

3/12/16 5:43 PM


building type

spontaneous vegetation

planted form

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 25

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 26

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 27

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 28

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 29

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 30

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 31

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 32

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 33

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 34

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 35

3/12/16 5:43 PM


“There is no you and us… there is only ‘us.’ We need to rebuild our nation. We can’t do it alone. You have made your way in societies where you had to start from nothing. You have carried Cuba with you and you have cared for her. Help us to unify her, to tear down this wall that, unlike the one in Berlin, is not made of concrete or bricks, but of lies, silence, bad intentions. In this Cuba so many of us dream of there will be no need to clarify what kind of Cuban we are. We will be just plain Cubans. Cubans, period. Cubans.” - Yoani Sánchez, Cuban blogger speaking to Cuban exiles in Miami.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 36

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 37

3/12/16 5:43 PM


TH ES C P U CU B BA A I

EC SO ONO CI AL CO MM TH ER E

ATIONALIZATION N S, C NOMIC EXPER CONF MI O IME RO EC N N T IS STITUTIONAL TATI TATI N I IST ON, ON I IST N C O N A I MPAI ON, 11962 WITH T A U G C N, 1 971- -197 THE IFI UN I 986 198 0 T C TED 6 1 9 STATES ERIOD, 1990-2 90 P , 006 AL I 1st CENTU EC E 2 UL CAS RY H TRO, RA T 200 N DER 6-2 N 014 U

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 38

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Timeline of Small Enterprise Under the Revolution

SO STATES , AND CON

OF N O ATI LI D

N IO T LU VO E ER H T

62 9 1 59 19

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 39

3/12/16 5:43 PM


“Informal markets are a central feature of the 21st century’s first tumultuous years. Both part of and response to the homogenizing forces of globalization, they constitute a volatile shadow system of heterogeneous micro-locations. Informal Market Worlds maps this new kind of urban system emerging from ongoing deregulations and realignments. Bringing together imaginative architectural approaches with texts by key contemporary thinkers, the two-part Informal Market Worlds explores new ways to interrupt the dominant logics of neoliberal governance. With groundbreaking research, the hefty Atlas includes 73 case studies, in locations ranging from Kabul’s postconflict Bush Bazaar to Arizona’s Snow Birds hipster markets. Offering a global perspective on the conflicted realities of informal marketplaces--from survival activities of the urban poor to transnational clandestine trade networks--these analyses reveal how informality has become a political instrument in the struggles around global market integration.” -Peter Mörtenböeck, Helge Mooshammer: Informal Market Worlds: Atlas: The Architecture of Economic Pressure, August 25, 2015

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 40

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 41

3/12/16 5:43 PM


TODAY, THE POLITICAL, MILITARY, AND IDEOLOGICAL PROBLEM OF THIS COUNTRY IS LOOKING FOR FOOD....WE MUST BE CLEAR ABOUT ONE THING: IF THERE IS FOOD FOR THE PEOPLE, THE RISKS DO NOT MATTER.

-Raul Castro, September 28, 1994 (Castro, R. 1997: 466)

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 42

3/12/16 5:43 PM


-

D

66)

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 43

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 44

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 45

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 46

3/12/16 5:43 PM


THE CUBAN ECONOMY a. 1959-current

b. business types c. food networks

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 47

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Confiscatio of properties of Batista supporters, including 236 businesses.

MARCH 1960 Tax Reform Law

Establishment of Instituto Nacional de la Industria Turistica (INIT, National Institute of Tourism); First Agrarian Reform Law

Urban Reform Law

Reduction of urban rents, to be based on renters’ income levels

Elimination of foreign crime syndicates and prohibition of gambling. The Mafia departs; its properties are sized by the state.

NOVEMBER 1959

JULYL 1959

JUNE 1959

MAY 1959

APRIL 1959

MARCH 1959

JANUARY 1959

Creation of “Ministry for the Recovery of Misappropriated Assets”

Promote tourism; Expropriation and redistribution of large estates, including 480,000 acres owned by U.S. interests.

“Vacant Lot Law”; Establishment of the Instituto de Ahoro y Vivienda (INAV, Institute of Savings and Housing”

Confiscation of unused urban lands; Promotion of housing construction

Rationalize tax structure and raise revenues.

Establishment of the Institutio Nacionial de Reforma Agraria (INRA, National Institute of Agrarian Reform.

Implementation of the agrarian reform; preliminary management of the state sector.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 48

3/12/16 5:43 PM


rm Law Law permitting Ministry of Labor to expropriate firms involved in labor disputes; “Oil Law,” establishment of Instituto Petrolera de Cuba (Cuban Oil Institute)

Takeover of 50 enterprises by March 1960; Instituion for managing the oil sector.

Law 851, “Nationalization of U.S. Properties”

Authorizing nationalization of all assets owned by U.S. citizens; Nationalization of all U.S. sugar mills plus telephone and electricity companies; Nationalization of U.S.-owned banks; Nationalization of foreign-owned enterpresises.

JUNE 1961 “The Year of Education” Launch of Literacy Campaign; Expansion and structural change in education

Establishment of universal coverage for primary school; expansion of secondary and university education

Law for the Nationalization of Education

Establishment of the Junta Central de Planificacinon (JUCEPLAN, Central Planning Board)

Institution preparatory for more centralized planning.

JANUARY 1960

OCTOBER 1960

SEPTEMBER 1960

JULY 1960

JUNE 29 1960

MARCH 1960

Cuba’s Major Economic Reforms, 1959-1961

Law 890; Urban Reform Law Takeover of all education by the state

Nationalization of oil companies

Nationalization of many Cuban owned enterprises; Nationalization of non-owner occupied housing and allocation to former renters under favorable terms.

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 49

3/12/16 5:43 PM


The U.S. adopts punitive Cuba Democracy Act. MINAG forms the Department of Urban Agriculture. Gov. launches Organoponicos.

Cuban government encourages community garden development at any scale.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 50

Urban community gardens spread, with food grown for markets.

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

1989

Soviet Bloc Collapses. Cuban government authorizes free use of state-owned lots.

Fresh vegetables greenhouses are devloped in the cities, primarily producing vegetables for tourism. 8,000 officially recognized gardens are in Havana, covering 30 percent of urban land.

U.S. allows “humanitarian� food and agricultural trade to Cuba.

Organic-matter production centers are developed to process organic waste. The U.S. signs the Helms-Burton Act (also known as thee Cuba Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act.

3/12/16 5:43 PM


U.S. allows umanitarian� food and agricultural trade to Cuba.

Cuba exports first organically certified sugarcane to Europe.

2011

2010

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Post Soviet-Bloc Reforms

Government loosens restrictions on commerce, allowing Cubans to own businesses and land, including restaurants and food stands.

Cuban imports from the U.S. peak at 700 million dollars. The U.S. is the top importer of agricultural products from Cuba.

Fidel Castro gives presidency to his brother Raul. Government policy aims to improve food access by focusing on urban gardens.

Food prices increase 20 percent under the leadership of Raul.

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 51

3/12/16 5:43 PM


HOUSEHOLD Non-Monetized activities within the home or among neighbors

child-rearing activities “Do-it-yourself” activities Cooperative work

1. Licensed “Self-Employment”

a. registerd cuentapropistas

b. small farmers

c. etc.

2. Formal Enterprises: Joint ventures state,

FORMAL Legal goods and services performed within the state’s regulatory framework

enterprises, and formal cooperatives

a. tourism

b. minerals

c. sugar sector

d. etc.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 52

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Categorizing the Cuban Economy

UNDERGROUND/ INFORMAL Unauthorized, unregulated, untaxed, illegal

1. “Legitimate Underground Economic Activies� (LUEAs) a. legal goods and services outside the regulatory and tax regimes of the state 2. Within registered self-employment activities a. unauthorized sales b. unauthorized dollar (or CUC) activities 3. Underground activities operating within state firms a. private payments to state employees b. under-the-counter sales c. illicit private enterprises 4. Black markets a. under-the-counter sales in state retail outlets b. sales of products outside the -state system

CRIMINAL

1. Theft; sale of stolen goods; sale of jobs; personal use of public property; drugs, prostitution, etc.

unlawful activities, carried out illictly

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 53

3/12/16 5:43 PM


10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1 1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 54

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Percentage of Self-Employed in Cuba 502,687 9.8%

380,555 7.6%

152,200 3.2%

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015 Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 55

3/12/16 5:43 PM


WE HAVE TO ERASE FOREVER THE NOTION THAT CUBA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WHERE ONE CAN LIVE WITHOUT WORKING.

-Raul Castro, to delegates of the National Assembly, August 1, 2010 (Peters 2012a)

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 56

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 57

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 58

3/12/16 5:43 PM


THE CUBAN MODEL DOESN’T EVEN WORK FOR US ANYMORE.

-Fidel Castro, responding to U.S. journalist Jeffrey Goldberg’s question about whether the Cuban model was still something worth exporting, September 8, 2010 (Goldberg 2010)

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 59

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Pre-1989: Soviet Bloc exports to Cuba: 30,000 tons of pesticides, 90,000 tractors total, oil or fuel, spare parts, and fertilizers

E.U. exports to Cuba include food products, such as dairy. Venezuela currently provides Cuba with oil.

Brazil dominates the soybean and soybean oil exports to Cuba and has recently invested heavily in poultry, tractors, equipment, irrigation systems, and teechnology.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 60

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Cuba’s Food Network, 1950-

oc ,000 90,000 fuel, tilizers

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 61

3/12/16 5:43 PM


1980

1970

1960

1950

1959-1989: 57 percent of all food consumed in Cuba imported from the Soviet Bloc.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 62

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Cuba’s Food Network, 1950-

1989 All Soviet Bloc trade eliminated 2002-present Cuba imports from U.S., Brazil, Venezuela, People’s Republic of China, and the European Union

2010

2000

1990

1980

1991-1993 Special Period Food Crisis

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 63

3/12/16 5:43 PM


1984

95%

IMPORTS

1991

5%

IMPORTS

20%

LOCAL

1995 10%

IMPORTS

30%

LOCAL

2000 12%

IMPORTS

60%

LOCAL

2015

5%

IMPORTS

90%

LOCAL

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 64

3/12/16 5:43 PM


“Last year, the Cuban government announced its “Portfolio

of Foreign Investment Opportunities”—some 246 projects in energy, tourism, agriculture, and industry—for which it seeks US$8.7 billion in investment. Moreover, Havana says it wants growth rates to rise to 4–5 percent per year (from an estimated 1.5 percent in 2014), fueled by at least US$2 billion in annual foreign investment. Conclusion: VISION AND PATIENCE The limits on Cuba’s ability to absorb a rapid expansion in tourism, trade, and investment are significant, but continuing U.S. controls are also imposing obstacles. The Obama Administration has chosen not to use its executive authority under the Cuban Asset Control Regulations, written into the “Libertad [Helms-Burton] Act,” to expand trade with stateowned enterprises beyond those currently licensed—in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and for environmental protection. Apart from these exceptions, trade is only permitted with small entrepreneurs, who have minimal capacity to import and export. These limits, which can be reduced through executive action, pose a major hindrance to the broader normalization process.”

-Fulton Armstrong, “CUBA’S LIMITED ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY WILL SLOW NORMALIZATION,” October 22, 2015

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 65

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 66

3/12/16 5:43 PM


PART II: THE BARRIOS

territories + prototypes a. Vieja b. Centro c. Vedado d. Miramar

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 67

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana

Vieja

V

I

E

J

A

La Habana Vieja (Old Havana) is one of the 15 municipalities forming Havana. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of colonial Havana architecture. Habana Vieja was founded by Spanish settlers in 1519 in the natural harbor of the Bay of Havana. In the 17th century, Habana Vieja was one of the main shipbuilding centers. The city was built in baroque and neoclassic style; many buildings have fallen in ruin in the latter half of the 20th century, but a number have been and are being restored. The narrow streets of Old Havana contain as many as one-third of the approximately 3,000 buildings found in Havana. It is an ancient city formed from the port, the official center and the Plaza de Armas. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundaries of Old Havana. Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 68

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Area of Focus

State-Run Business

Private Business

Private Cafeteria

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 69

3/12/16 5:43 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 70

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 71

3/12/16 5:43 PM


C

A

L

L

E

S

A

N

L U

I

S

O

B

I

S

P

O

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 72

3/12/16 5:43 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 73

3/12/16 5:44 PM


C

A

L

L

E

S

A

N

L U

I

S

O

B

I

S

P

O

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 74

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 75

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Corner Private Kitchen

Japanese Cafeteria

McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 76

3/12/16 5:44 PM


OCCUPY THE CORNER

Transformations: +Awning +Temporary Counter +Swing Door +Menu Bolted +Wall Removal

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 77

3/12/16 5:44 PM


VIE J

A

cafeteria #1

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 78

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 79

3/12/16 5:44 PM


McFadden | Shinton

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 80

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 81

3/12/16 5:44 PM


VIE J

A

cafeteria #2

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 82

3/12/16 5:44 PM


VIE J

A

cafeteria #3

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 83

3/12/16 5:44 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 84

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 85

3/12/16 5:44 PM


VIE J

A

bodega #1

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 86

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 87

3/12/16 5:44 PM


McFadden | Shinton

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 88

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 89

3/12/16 5:44 PM


VIE J

A

tienda turistica #1

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 90

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 91

3/12/16 5:44 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 92

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 93

3/12/16 5:44 PM


Havana

Centro

C

E

N

T

R

O

Centro Habana is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs in the city of Havana, Cuba. Situated between Habana Vieja and Vedado, Centro is a working class neighborhood and densely populated, where houses built for one family are now occupied by several. Because of this, the streets and sidewalks in Centro are extensions of people’s homes, and because so few people own cars – traffic is less menacing, allowing pedestrians to linger in roadways. The mercados in Centro are active for locals, particularly San Rafael and Avenida de Italia, renowned shopping streets where many of the most glamorous department stores were located before the Revolution, when the Avenida de Italia was known as Galiano, the name most locals still use. Near the southern end of Galiano is El Barrio Chino, Havana’s Chinatown, a busy focal point for the area. Centro has not received the degree of investment and rejuvenation spent on Habana Vieja. The famous Malecón seafront promenade, however, is starting to regain its former glory, with many of its buildings receiving facelifts in recent years. Centro Habana is primarily a residential area, although it does have a high concentration of casas particulares (private rooms for rent). Dividing Centro and Habana Vieja is the Paseo del Prado, a divided street with a large promenade, designed by French landscape architect JeanClaude Nicolas Forestier in 1772.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 94

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Area of Focus

State-Run Business

Private Business

Private Cafeteria

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 95

3/12/16 5:45 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 96

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 97

3/12/16 5:45 PM


C

A

L

L

E

S

A

N

R

A

F

A

E

L

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 98

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 99

3/12/16 5:45 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 100

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 101

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Living Room

Juice & Coffee Cafeteria

McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 102

3/12/16 5:45 PM


OCCUPY THE WINDOW

Transformations: +Stylized Metal Bars +Temporary Menu +Altered Window +Painted Facade +Awning

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 103

3/12/16 5:45 PM


N CE

O TR

cafeteria #1

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 104

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 105

3/12/16 5:45 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 106

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 107

3/12/16 5:45 PM


N

CE

O TR

bodega #1

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 108

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 109

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Havana

Vedado

V

E

D

A

D

O

Vedado is a central business district and urban neighborhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Central Havana, and on the west by the Miramar / Playa district, Vedado is the most modern part of the city, developed in the first half of the 20th centuryduring the Republic period. The main street running east to west is Calle 23, also known as “La Rampa.” The northern edge of the district is the waterfront seawall known as the Malecón, a famous and popular place for social gatherings in the city. Vedado is a ward of the municipality Plaza de la Revolución. The eleven-acre square where the people of Havana used to gather to listen to Castro speak at annual Communist rallies. The plaza is practically empty the rest of the year , an exception being the annual May 1st Labor Day parade. The square is notable as being where many political rallies take place and Fidel Castro and other political figures address Cubans. Fidel Castro has addressed more than a million Cubans on many important occasions, such as 1 May and 26 July each year. Vedado also refers to the University district of Havana. The University of Havana, or Universidad de la Habana, was established in 1728 and has a rich history.

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 110

3/12/16 5:45 PM


Area of Focus

State-Run Business

Private Business

Private Cafeteria

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 111

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 112

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 113

3/12/16 5:46 PM


A

V

E

N

I

D

A

Q

U

I

N

T

A

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 114

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 115

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 116

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 117

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Front Subsisdence Garden

DonDon Cafeteria

McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 118

3/12/16 5:46 PM


afeteria

OCCUPY THE FRONT YARD

Transformations: +Garden Removal +Large Ribbed Awning +Permanent Bar +Permanent Counter +Benches +Concrete Pavers +Fence Between Parcels +Outdoor Kitchen +Tarp Behind Bar

Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 119

3/12/16 5:46 PM


pa

a el rc

lin

ea

p lit sp

l ce ar l ce ar p lit sp

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 120

3/12/16 5:46 PM


l ce ar p it pl

DONDON cafeteria

jugo bistec con arroz empanada

a el rc pa

lin

ea

Vedado, Havana, Cuba Cafeteria DonDon (est. 2014) Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 121

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #4

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 122

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 123

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 124

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 125

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #1

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 126

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 127

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 128

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 129

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #2

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 130

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 131

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 132

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 133

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #3

McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 134

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 135

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 136

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 137

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #5

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 138

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 139

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 140

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 141

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #6

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 142

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 143

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 144

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 145

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #7

McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 146

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 147

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 148

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 149

3/12/16 5:46 PM


VE D

AD

O

cafeteria #8

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 150

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 151

3/12/16 5:46 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 152

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 153

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Havana

Miramar

M

I

R

A

M

A

R

Miramar is a residential district of the municipality of Playa, located west of the channelized Almendares River and Vedado. Prior to the Revolution, the neighborhood was home to many of Havana’s upscale residents. Miramar underwent a dramatic conversion after the Revolution, and many expensive homes were put to use as offices and embassies. The golf course became an art school (ISA). There are also some of Havana’s more modern hotels such as Hotel Melia Habana, Oasis Panorama Hotel and Occidental Miramar, beaches and private rental houses (casas particulares). Also located here is the International School of Havana. In the late 1990s and 2000s, several office blocks have been built in a complex called Centro de Negocios Miramar - the “Miramar Trade Center.”

McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 154

3/12/16 5:46 PM


Area of Focus

State-Run Business

Private Business

Private Cafeteria

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 155

3/12/16 5:47 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 156

3/12/16 5:47 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 157

3/12/16 5:47 PM


C

A

L

L

E

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 158

2

8

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 159

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 160

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 161

3/12/16 5:47 PM


Driveway

Vladimir’s Cafeteria

McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton 160312_cuba_book_final.indd 162

3/12/16 5:47 PM


OCCUPY THE DRIVEWAY

Transformations: +Long Awning +Circular Awning +Portable Ice Cream Cooler +Fold-Out Clip-On Bench +Retaining Wall as Bench +Fence = Counter (Cut Hole) +Outdoor Cooking Equipment Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 163

3/12/16 5:47 PM


MIR A

R MA

cafeteria #1

Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 164

3/12/16 5:47 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 165

3/12/16 5:47 PM


McFadden | Shinton Havana Parcel | McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 166

3/12/16 5:47 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 167

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 168

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 169

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 170

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 171

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 172

3/12/16 5:47 PM


160312_cuba_book_final.indd 173

3/12/16 5:47 PM


McFadden | Shinton

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 174

3/12/16 5:47 PM


Havana Parcel

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 175

3/12/16 5:47 PM


LIST OF CONTACTS IN CUBA/USA: Vivero Alamar Alamar, Municipio de La Habana del Este Miguel Ángel Salcines, administrator Miguel López, one of the founding members viveroalamar@sih.cu Dr. Sergio Pastrana Head of Foreign Relations, Cuban Academy of Sciences Email: pastrana@ceniai.inf.cu Prof. Carlos Sánchez, Ph.D. [will be visiting NYBG March – May 2015] Taxonomy and Conservation Ferns and Lycophytes of Greater Antilles Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba Tel: (537) 833-5076 atalopteris@gmail.com csanchez@fbio.uh.cu Alejandro Palmarola Director of Planta! and President of Cuban Botanical Society Investigator Jardín Botánico Nacional Carretera del Rocio Km 3 ½ Calabazas 19230 Habana Tel. (+537) 270-35-45 or (+537) 883-05-28 alejo@iniciativaplanta.org http://iniciativaplanta.org Maria Antonia Biologist and former Director of Agricultural Biotechnology San Mariano #616 entre Mayia Rodriguez y Sola La Habana, Cuba Onp-coordtecnica@iift.cu Sra. Nora Hernández Monterrey, Director Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba monterrey@rect.uh.cu Carretera del Rocío Km 3½, Calabazar 19230 Habana http://www.uh.cu/centros/jbn/ Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos No. 416 e/San Rafael y San Miguel, Cienfuegos Tel. (53) (43) 255-1003 Fax (53) (43) 255-1245 Orquideario Soroa Apdo. Postal No. 5, Candelaria, Pinar del Rio Ing. Rolando Perez Marquez, Scientific Director (telefax: (53) 85-2558 or e-mail: rperez@vrect.upr.edu.cu

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 176

Mario Pozo Pelegrín Patio del Pelegrin in Pinar del Rio Calle26 # 1513-A Pinar del Río Raúl González jantonio@vrect.upr.edu.cu http://www.pelegrin.pinarte.cult.cu/htm/pelegrin.htm

Brian Boom, Director, Caribbean Biodiversity Program, and Bassett Maguire Curator of Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10458, 718.817.8797 Director Dr. Maira Fernández Zequeira Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) Institute of Ecology and Systematics Varona # 11835% Road East and Lindero Cast Parajón, popular Calabazar Council, Municipality Boyeros, Havana. Postal Code 11900 La Habana 19. http://www.ecosis.cu/ Miguel Coyula, University of Havana, Professor in Architecture and Urban Planning Adriana Premat, Ph. D. Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology University of Western Ontario Email: apremat@uwo.ca Telephone: (519) 661-2111 ext. 85100 “Sowing Change” as methodological model Eric A Martinez Organoponico Sazon Collin Laverty Cuba Educational Travel Email: collin@cubaeducationaltravel.com USA: 202-213-7050 Cuba: 535-379-8518 Web: www.cubaeducationaltravel.com Olivia Choy Architect Havana Email: oliviachoy83@yahoo.com

3/12/16 5:47 PM


Bibliography Alvarez, José “Privatization of State-Owned Agricultural Enterprises in Post-Transition Cuba..” Problems of Post-Communism 53.6 (Nov/Dec2006): 30-45. Clouse, Carey. Farming Cuba : Urban Agriculture From the Ground Up. First edition. Conan, Michel. Performance and Appropriation: Profane Rituals in Gardens and Landscapes. Washington, D.C.: Published by Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2007. Hunt, John Dixon. The Vernacular Garden. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1993. Ghai, Dharam P, Cristóbal Kay, and Peter Peek. Labour and Development In Rural Cuba. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. Imbert, Dorothée. Food and the City. Dumbarton Oaks, 2015. Martínez Alier, Juan. Haciendas, Plantations and Collective Farms : Agrarian Class Societies--Cuba and Peru. London: F. Cass, 1977. Miller, M.M, “Cuban Landscapes: Heritage, Memory, and Place.” Joseph L Scarpaci and Armando H Portela. Geographical Review, 101: 290-202. Mintz, Sidney Wilfred. Caribbean Transformations. Chicago: Aldine Pub. Co., 1974. “Organoponicos and Organic Produce in Cuba | Havana Journal.” Havana Journal. <http://havanajournal.com/business/entry/organoponicos-and-organic-produce-in-cuba/>. Premat, Adriana. Sowing Change: The Making of Havana’s Urban Agriculture. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2012. Print. Renwick, Danielle, and Lee Brianna. “U.S.-Cuba Relations.” Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, Web. 04 Feb. 2016. Ritter, Archibald R. M., and Ted A. Henken. Entrepreneurial Cuba: The Changing Policy Landscape. Boulder: FirstForumPress, 2015. Print. Rosset, Peter “Organic farming in Cuba.” Multinational Monitor 15.10 (November 1, 1994): 13-15. Rosset, Peter, and Medea Benjamin. The Greening of the Revolution : Cuba’s Experiment with Organic Agriculture. Melbourne, Vic., Australia: Ocean, 1994. “Small Businesses Sprout Out Of Front Yards In Cuba.” NPR. <http://www.npr.org/2011/07/06/137652094/small-businesses-sprout-out-of-front-yards-i n-cuba>. Wädekin, Karl Eugen. Communist Agriculture : Farming In the Far East and Cuba. London: Routledge, 1990.

160312_cuba_book_final.indd 177

3/12/16 5:47 PM


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.