HISTORICAL OUTLINES OF HAVANA, CUBA 

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Originally established in 1514 on the South coast of Cuba, Ciudad de la Habana is nowadays the capital of Cuba. Havana moved in 1519 to its current location and with its 2.1 million inhabitants, it is the largest city in the Caribbean region. During the 18th century, Havana became one of the largest cities in the Americas. After first being conquered by the British, Havana became Spanish and both conquerors caused Havana, during the 19th century, to turn into a rich, flourishing city. Since 1930, and under American influence, the city saw a new era of development mainly with the development of the tourist industries. In 1959, the communist revolution under the guidance of Fidel Castro prevailed. Emphasis was made on improving social services. Under Castro’s regime, and as a result of the implementation of a Soviet Union-based communist model combined with the U.S. embargo, the society as a whole suffered tremendously and Havana has been frozen in time since the start of the revolution in 1959. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and thus the end of Soviet subsidies, Cuba came in an economic crisis. Havana itself can be divided in three distinct areas, namely Habana Vieja, Centro Habana and Vedado, while around these three main areas, the city consists of new suburban districts. Habana Vieja, with its romantic narrow streets, balconies and old houses, is the traditional center of Havana. Havana is administrated by a city council with a mayor as chief, but the city is still dependent on the national government. Years of economic crisis and shortages left much of Havana in decay and decomposition making the cities atmosphere unique in the world. It made Havana into an authentic that is real.

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MSc studio BC, semester 13, 2008-11

Participants: Mahtab Akhavan, Ruben Bergambagt, Thomas Boerendonk, Yajun Chen, Koen van Diepen, Marcello Fantuz, Raul Forsoni, Ryan Forster, Andrea Guazzieri, Carolyn Leung, Geraldine Li, Niels Limburg, Valery van Nooijen, Qian Ren, Negar Sanaan Bensi, Gaofei Tan, Gurhan Ucaroglu, Victor Verhagen, Mandy Xu.

Mentors: Henriette Bier, Oscar Rommens, Marc Schoonderbeek, Suzanne Groenewold.

MSc studio T, semester 06, 2008-09

Participants: ...

Mentors: Filip Geerts, Olaf Gipser, Stefano Milani.