EHJ May 2004, pages 150-152
Eighty per cent of Cubans own their homes. Jill Stewart reports on how the Castro regime is regenerating private sector housing, despite  a US trade embargo strangling the economy

Mention Cuba and for most it conjures up images of low slung 1950s American cars, all chrome and curves, sweeping past the crumbling facades of Havana's colonial buildings.

Houses in Habana Vieja, or old Havana, have been falling apart since the 1930s. It was then that the wealthier Cubans moved out of these grand houses into the suburbs to be replaced by migrants arriving in the capital. At the time, buying into new housing developments was seen as far more attractive than paying for regeneration. But when the migrants were unable to pay to maintain the houses, they started to fall into disrepair.

Things got no better in 1959 when the Batista regime was overthrown and "el hombre neuvo", the new man, took over. Fidel Castro strove to create a society driven by moral and social justice, emphasising the collective good over individualism. The revolutionary constitution gave power to the workers giving all families the right to a decent home.

But Cuba did not have the resources or access to the kind of building materials they needed to provide housing for everyone. Economically strangled by the US-led trade embargo, imposed in the 1960s, resources became scarce. Also, in the 1990s, the loss of subsidies that had been provided by the former USSR, forced Cubans into a "special period" of austerity to deal with a major economic crisis.

It is difficult for any country in the modern world to operate in isolation. Average wages in Cuba are kept very low and a dual economy exists with pesos operating alongside the US dollar. Yet, despite being so poor around 80 per cent of Cubans own their own home and most other families rent from the government. Housing in Cuba is seen as a social good, not a commodity, and as such it is illegal to sell houses for profit. Liberated from a fluctuating housing market, it became possible to charge families a notional rent of 10 per cent of their income for accommodation. This money goes towards buying the property, which then belongs to the tenant after 10 to 20 years of paying rent. This, of course, is only possible because housing is very heavily subsidised. However, the downside of this arrangement is that subsidies, combined with such low wages and a lack of building materials, leaves very little for new development or housing renovation.

At the time of the revolution Cuba faced major housing problems but rather than regenerate its slums, it built new houses. They were largely built by the microbrigades (workers brigades) in areas such as Alamar, Habana del Este, Alta Habana and Villas Panamericanas. The scale of new building developments has declined since the collapse of the USSR. The pre-revolutionary houses in Havana, however, failed to attract resources and deteriorated even further. It is only recently that the poor physical condition of these buildings has been made a priority, along with tackling overcrowding and squatting. Some shanty settlements have also begun to appear in Havana, but nowhere near on the scale seen in urban areas in other Latin American countries. So how is Cuba going about tackling regeneration?

Housing policy in Cuba is extremely localised, variable, and has a high level of local participation. This all reflects the ideals of the revolution. The instituto nacional de la vivienda (INV) or the national housing institute, is run largely by architects who oversee national housing needs, policy development and housing allocation. Its key objectives include helping to make the housing system run more professionally, achieving better integration with the population and helping to find new and affordable housing solutions.

One of the most innovative approaches to housing delivery is the policy of arquitecto de la comunidad (architects in the community). This brings together qualified architects and community develop-ment workers. Their jobs are to encourage local participation and active citizenship while promoting learning about new housing developments. This role has become self-funding, which is important at a time of limited resources, encouraging sustainable development while also providing good quality self-build housing and retaining government control.

The architects in the community work closely with the microbrigades. Through the microbrigade system, workers are released from their regular jobs and paid to build or renovate their own homes. This encourages participation, active citizenship, and a sense of local ownership. It also enables new housing to be built at relatively low cost as the government fixes the prices of building materials, lends plant and machinery, and labour is provided for "free".

Meanwhile the comite de defensa de la revolucion (CDR) (committee for the defence of the revolution) works at a local level to protect the common good. Its role is to enhance social benefit, develop the community and to be involved in housing regeneration. A close relationship therefore exists between government, architects in the community, the CDR, the microbrigades and the communities themselves, when delivering housing.

Housing allocation is based on a combination of merit and need. In Cuba, everyone who can work is expected to work with active citizenship rewarded as a continued contribution to the revolutionary objectives. Members of the microbrigades, who build the houses, are seen as the most deserving to be housed. But ultimately, it is social workers who determine need by looking at a person's ties to an area, proximity to work, length of time lived in an area and so on. There is no equivalent of a housing officer in Cuba.

As for those crumbling facades in Havana, there is an ongoing debate as to whether the old colonial buildings should be preserved, or whether priority should be given to providing new, affordable housing. Such concerns have led to an increasingly integrated approach to Havana's current regeneration policies. Strategies are now in place to regenerate pre-revolutionary housing stock in Habana Vieja, which has been declared a Unesco world heritage site along with the adjoining area of Centro Habana (central Havana).

The oficina del historiador de la ciudad (office of the city historian), takes the lead in Habana Vieja's regeneration through the city's master plan. The post holder is required to be a "visionary social entrepreneur", responsible for finding and then allocating resources to create profit and reinvestment in an area. Of course, the terms profit and reinvestment have a different context in Cuba than in capitalist countries. They relate to reinvestment for the common good, not individual profiteering.

By 1993, the office of the city historian and its agencies had raised some US$10m, largely from tourism, for reinvestment. Funding also came from the UN local human development fund and donations from different countries. Such sources do, however, have the disadvantage of not always being sustainable and are subject to political changes. The master plan is revisited every five years and resources are allocated by the city historian and in response to community requests. Around seven to 10 buildings are restored ann-ually. They are chosen according to their importance as buildings of cultural or religious importance. Some 30 per cent of the regeneration budget is allocated to housing, which is in turn very heavily subsidised.

A sustainable and integrated approach to regeneration is seen as key to addressing the sorts of problems that go with poor conditions, a growing population, housing need and few resources. Cubans recognise the need to provide a decent infrastructure and services, while tackling overcrowding in some areas of the city and coming up with innovative and flexible housing solutions that combine the various regeneration elements. It is the city historian, working closely with the INV, who addresses regeneration, service provision, housing need and so on. But an obstacle to regeneration is the major problems of overcrowding which means "squatters" have to be decanted to safer housing. Meanwhile, the numbers of people living in houses have to be cut to the sorts of levels that the buildings were originally designed for.

The grupo para el desarollo integral de la ciudad (group for the comprehensive integrated development of the capital) (GDIC), created in 1998, is a highly qualified multi-disciplinary team made up of architects, social workers, engineers and technicians who advise the city government. Its key roles include fostering sustainable urban development, managing the socio-economic strategy, encouraging participation and developing strategic activities for the future. One of the GDIC's main innovations has been the establishment of talleres de transformaciones integrales (workshops for the comprehensive transformation of neighbourhoods). These are permanent community workshops, operating locally and sharing professional and community skills to help alleviate physical, social and environmental problems. Around 25 per cent of the population actively participate in them.

In contrast to Habana Vieja, Centro Habana does not benefit from the city historian's resources and is struggling to fund regeneration. Some 70 per cent of buildings in this area are now in poor condition and around 20 to 30 per cent have deteriorated to such an extent that they cannot be saved.

The area is overcrowded as many buildings have become squatted and have been informally turned into high-density occupancies. Over a period of many years badly constructed stories have been added to buildings, which have been poorly maintained.  The little money that is available is spent on commercial buildings to bring reinvestment into the area. Block by block analysis was carried out in 1997 to research the history of the area and its current status in order to make informed decisions about what to do next, and also what materials are needed to renovate which building. Decisions are made to try to retain the spirit of the area. Recycling of materials like facades is important because it is difficult to import other materials. It is hoped that one day Havana will be sensitively restored to its former colonial glory. But by then the last of the 1950s American cars will probably have been scrapped.

This article is based on an architectural and housing study tour organised by Cuba solidarity campaign. E-mail: Simon Bull at tours@cuba-solidarity.org.uk. Website: www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk. The trip was led by Dr Isobel Anderson of Stirling University. Website www.stir.ac.uk or e-mail: isobel.anderson@stir.ac.uk. Jill Stewart lectures in housing and environmental health at Greenwich University.