38 C O N T E X T 1 3 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 3 Old Town, with high levels of overcrowding.The policy is to avoid squeezing anyone out, while securing a greater social balance. This can be achieved because the Office of the Historian or the municipality owns almost all the properties. One benefit has been to use the museums as classrooms while schools were being refurbished. A huge range of museums, including unusual ones dealing with playing cards and, of course, rum, has taken over many of the finest buildings. An important part of the investment has gone into improving living conditions in the five main squares, which are gradually being upgraded. But a building of 15 apartments formerly housed 46 families when the building was still a tenement house, and there is still relatively little new housing being built to accommodate the growing population. Rents are related to 10 per cent of family incomes, which is insufficient to pay for the renovation that is needed. There are other potential sites for hotels, so relying just on tourism to support regeneration may not be feasible in the longer term. The local industries are still weak and small-scale. Interestingly the main cigar factory is closed for refurbishment. A fine mansion has just been restored and reopened as galleries for artist-craftsmen, and creative businesses are playing a major role in the Old Town’s renaissance. The conservation policy has also had economic aims. It is noticeable how many people are involved in keeping the streets clean, and staffing the large number of museums which have taken over some of the finest buildings. More than10,000 jobs have been created through this process, and the Old Town has become Havana’s greatest attraction. The fine streets of Obispo and Mercaderes now include not only a great many bars featuring different styles of Cuban music, but also increasing numbers of private restaurants and shops, now that occupiers are permitted to establish small enterprises.There is also a huge amount of street activity. A lady with a strong voice who sells peanuts was given a grant so long as she continued to wear her fine costume.The Office of the Historian employs 300 people, and effectively manages the neighbourhood ‘like the Vatican’. Some employment is provided through construction work, and there is a trade school, which leads on to apprenticeships. Within the strong street grid there is an extraordinary variety of building sizes and styles, with tall 1930s modernist and art deco buildings next to two- or three-storey classical mansions or commercial buildings. Open windows with grilles or balconies and large courtyards create a rich melange of living streets, making walking a pleasure. High densities in the older parts support high levels of social interaction, and the rich social capital compensates perhaps for the poor state of many of the buildings. Cuba feels much safer than many comparable countries. However, the contrasts are still very visible, not just between town and country, but also between different parts of town. The people living in rural areas have probably benefited most from the revolution, but there are too few jobs to use the skills of all who now get educated. The temptations of moving abroad, particularly to the USA, other parts of Latin America or Canada, are strong. Incomes that depend heavily on tips encourage hustling, which can conflict with the calm that visitors may seek. Cuba’s historic quarters and balmy climate attract plenty of retired visitors, while the music scene appeals to a broader age range. The regeneration not just of Havana’s OldTown, but also Cienfuegos,Trinidad and other historic cities, forms a national network. It could offer models for colonial cities in other parts of the world, and shows what can be achieved without letting economic forces get out of hand. But the achievements could be fragile, depending very much on the policies of future US governments. These seem to be the features of the Cuban model of heritage-based regeneration that others could learn from: 1. A strategy based on upgrading the public realm in the main squares and the streets that link them. 2.Retaining the historic qualities and memories that make the old areas distinctive, and that conserve the quarters as living places, not museums. 3. A strategy of public ownership of all the properties, under the control of a team with skills in historic conservation and economic development, and led by the position of a historian (who has been described as ‘like the Pope’). 4.Partnerships with private investors, on terms that maintain control and with proceeds being reinvested in the wider area. 5. The involvement of creative people at every level, including excellent interpretation, signing, landscaping and public art. Nicholas Falk is a director of URBED. The author’s insights into the restoration process in Havana came from Orestes del Castillo, who formerly assisted the Historian of the Old Town, and benefited from correspondence with Julio Perez. Investment in social services such as education and health has resulted in a long-lived and supposedly 100 per cent literate population.
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