La Habana, Cuba
Cuba鈥檚 territory is divided into 15 provinces, plus the special听municipality of The Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth). Havana听City is the only city province, with a population of 2.1m, at an听average density of 2,925 residents per square km.
The settlement in which we are working is located on the top of the basin of the Havana Bay, in the Consejo Popular Casa Blanca, where around 1,000 families (5,000 people) live, largely migrants originating from the eastern parts of Cuba.
鈥淚n Havana, in the late 1920s, appeared a number of improvised settlements, lacking infrastructure, known at the time as barrios de indigentes (shantytowns). They constituted the only housing option for the poor. While the city was expanding with new land being urbanized and buildings growing higher, widening housing alternatives for the middle class, impoverished citizens were left destitute.”
– Zardoya
Between 1919 and 1931 there were three new residents per hour in the city. Many of them went to these shantytowns.
Phases of urban development
The country development model was markedly听unequal until 1959 with the capital seen as the most privileged space.
The Cuban Revolution of 1959 implemented spatial practices听that secured universal access to basic resources of social听reproduction such as education, health care, housing, food听and water. At the time of the revolution, 6% of Havana residents听lived in squatter settlements.听They were known as barrios de indigentes 鈥撎�or literally 鈥渘eighbourhoods of the poor (or indigent or听诲别蝉迟颈迟耻迟别)鈥�.
Between 1959 鈥� 1990 the country started to show a more balanced development, especially in听the policy towards informal听settlements.听During 1960 and 1961, the largest and worst of these听shantytowns were demolished; their residents built听replacement housing through the Self-Help and Mutual Aid听Programme. The remaining shantytowns were renamed barrios insalubres听鈥� 鈥渦nhealthy neighbour- hoods鈥�, shifting听the focus from the economic status of their residents to the听quality of the housing and settlements.
By 1987, Havana had 15,975 units in shantytowns, representing less than 3 per cent of all Havana dwellings.
But by 2001, the city had a total of 21,552 units; a little more than a quarter of such units nationally. This 50% growth was seen as the result of an increase in net migration to Havana, especially from the less developed eastern provinces, and led to the 1997 migration law.
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Nowadays these shantytowns are scattered throughout the听city except for in a few central areas.
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The Settlement
The settlement comprises two so-called sectors (sectores)听defined by the local bylaws (regulaciones urban铆sticas) as听eradication sectors (SE) (SE-2 Fuerte San Diego, SE-4 San听Nicol谩s ). They are the result of the combination of the听migration pressures occurred during the 90 虂s and the听weakening of the law enforcement and urban control听capacities proper of that period. One of them occupies a听heritage relevant site; The Hornabeque San Diego, where听there are around 87 households (38 in early 90 虂s) whereas听the other one is an average informal settlement with a poorly听defined urban structure, houses built with relatively low听quality materials and with poor infrastructure. There were 392听households in 2015 that are the main focus of attention of the听project.听
The site is paradoxically well located and at the same time听isolated a condition that made it attractive and that facilitated听the occupation respectively. The occupation of the听homonymous former estate where there was once upon a time听a trees nursery started in the early 90. Nowadays none of the听houses has is officially registered and the services that are听provided are illegal. According to (Renda Goulet 2017) in 2004听there was an attempt to eradicate the site and 25 houses听demolished. The action shows the level of contestation of the听site and reflects the prevailing policy towards this kind of听settlements. There is not registry of similar actions recently.
