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PublicLabs in Havana

Transport is a complex issue in contemporary Havana and the effects of the blockade are extremely visible in this area. The vast majority of the population regardless of the income group they belong to relies on mobility modes that are not associated to private individual vehicles. A private car is a scarce expensive

commodity and there is very low motorisation rate. Mostly, travellers are users of a public transportation based on an old almost exclusively petrol-dependent fleet. Newly introduced options include also collective taxis and other more expensive modes. The extremely low prices of the public transportation (between USD 0.02 – USD 0.25 excluding collective taxis) means that affordability is not a barrier even for the most vulnerable people in the city. On the other hand, bicycles are stigmatized by the bad memories of the 90 ́s when it became the only option available for the majority of the Habaneros. Their numbers have diminished to almost inexistence. The current offer of bikes is beyond reach for most pockets.

The supply of buses doesn’t meet the demand, and the increasing offers of collective taxis is insufficient and affect other related variables. The predominant fleet of vehicles is old and there is a lack of resource to cover the needs of maintenance.

The restrictions imposed by U.S.A on finance has been a major factor not only in the maintenance of the means of transport and the access for its replace, but in the low level of investment in infrastructure over many years that contributes to restricted accessibility, danger and a poor quality urban environment. All of this has a negative impact in the provision of public transport and in the capacity to provide better conditions for mobility and accessibility in Havana.

Access to Services

Because Cuba has developed widespread affordable healthcare and educational systems during the last 60 years, this has allowed everyone a level of access to good quality service in their own neighbourhoods. This kind of embedded infrastructure, even within informal settlements, increases the accessibility and therefore diminishes the needs of movement around the city.

Paradoxically, this does come with its own risks .

  • The lack of maintenance of pedestrians infrastructure
  • Poor conditions of walking infrastructure
  • Car-oriented road geometry and design
  • Low traffic volumes combined with drivers ́perception of exclusive right to the roads enables relatively high speeds.

All of it makes hostile and unfriendly to the walkability in vast areas of the city. This limits the participation of older people and those with disabilities in particular, since walking is often the only available option.

The generation and management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a crucial issue worldwide due to, among others, the correlated impacts on sanitation, the environment and public health. In Havana (Cuba), the issue is identified as one of the serious problems facing the city (CITMA, 2016). Havana, has a population of 2 121 871 inhabitants (ONEI, 2015), which represents about 20% of the country’s population and 26% of its total urban population.

The MSW management system in the Cuban capital is inefficient and shows a series of unsolved problems such as inefficient collection, no sorting process, and final disposal in open dumps with little or no gas and leachate control (Espinosa et al, 2019). There are currently a number of economic actors, mostly young entrepreneurs, with female protagonists, who propose different approaches and solutions to the different flows of materials derived from solid waste in Havana (paper and cardboard, plastics, wood, non-ferrous metals, etc.) and are part of a future and definitive system of integrated management of municipal solid waste in the city.

We develop an approach to the ̈zero waste ̈ paradigm in Havana with key elements that can change the prevailing situation throughout the city. Possible solutions to achieve a Havana with a ̈zero waste ̈ label include the application of the principles of circular economy in the main economic sectors, the training of the various local government agents, socio-economic and community factors, the clear definition of those responsible and executors as part of an integrated management system, inter-sectoral collaboration and citizen involvement.

The work in this PublicLab involves:

  • A diagnosis and characterisation of waste generation in the informal settlements of La Traviesa and San Nicolás. The work delivered by the tema generated interest from the communities to develop community management system for the waste generated.
  • Development and implementation of the Reciklando apk, which led to the connection of potential users with the city’s door-to-door raw material collection services.
  • The design of devices for the treatment of part of the waste generated and possibly with project´s partners, the manufacture of prototypes once resources are available.
  • Development of the the Higher University Technical Degree in Integrated Waste Management, presented, approved and began to be taught in February 2023.

The current and prevailing policy has been the policy of eradication while in reality they have been growing and consolidating although with a weak infrastructure that keeps people off the transport grid hindering the access to the resources offered by the city.

Additionally these settlements have a poor infrastructure for waste management, which makes of them a contributor to the contamination of the bay. A new development planning tool is under construction in order to frame the conversion: The Plan Perspectivo de desarrollo de la bahía de La Habana (PPD-BH). The first version of the instrument identifies the slums challenge but calls for collaboration in order to build a consistent approach to be inserted in the new versions of the document. Therefore the transition of the area that equates that of the city as a whole has to deal with the co-production of a robust approach towards these off-gridded communities and amid a partnership with a wide range of actors GREAT will generate key knowledge to this aim.

The policy towards informal settlements is amid a thorough revision advanced by the new legal and policy frameworks, namely the New Urban Agenda. So, the policy is “being built” and GREAT can contribute to enhance it while it changes from the model of eradication to a model that understands other approaches including upgrading but that are not formalised in any document yet. What is particularly attractive for the selected settlement is that it is located within a national priority area in the early stages of transformation. Therefore the potential influence on the tools at local level becomes a pilot for policy making too.