Habana / Cuba
Reconstruction and Planning of Deteriorated Inner City Areas
Held the 3rd project year at CUJAE in Havana
As a result of substantial shortcomings of planning and socio-economically induced processes of change, many central metropolitan areas have been deteriorating and lost its sustainability, viability and attraction as commercial centre, or as historically identifiable cultural focus or as location to find high standard working and living conditions. In may places a declining industry left vast deteriorated and polluted areas out of functional use, and the middle and upper class citizens fled the area to find more attractive housing, infrastructure provisions and social living conditions in the widespread suburban outskirts of town.
In order to bring back inhabitants downtown, to increase the commercial and service potential, to regain cultural attraction for tourism and to convert devastated industrial sites for new and appropriate land use, architects and planners need to find new concepts to counteract the unfavorable development of the past. This refers to renovation of housing, the reconstruction of historical sites, the improvement of technical infrastructure for transport, supply of facilities and disposal, improving the environmental quality of urban space, a solution of the social problems and illegal movements.
The public urban planning authorities need to apply integrated, cross-departmental development concepts but also collaborate in programmes for the active participation of affected citizens and local initiatives contributing incentives and create ideas. The universities have a responsible role to contribute by transfer of expertise and give advisory to the political, professional, social and economic actors involved.