Developing an equitable and sustainable mobility strategy for Havana

Warren, James; Morris, Emily; Enoch, Marcus; Padilla Magdaleno, Idalmis; Parra Arias, Zunilda and Guanche, Julia (2015). Developing an equitable and sustainable mobility strategy for Havana. Cities, 45 pp. 133–141.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2015.02.007

Abstract

The particular political, economic and social conditions of the state of Cuba, in the Caribbean, have created unique possibilities for the development of a sustainable transport system in its capital city, Havana. This paper reports on the outcomes of a project to identify the possibilities and priorities for a long-term strategy for equitable and sustainable mobility for Havana. This involved almost 100 participants from Cuba and the UK in the 12 months from June 2013.

Overall, the study found a high degree of agreement amongst the transport policy community as to the three key transport issues facing Havana:

high level of unmet demand,
lack of available financing,
poor state of the transport system.

Perhaps more surprisingly, it also produced a near consensus amongst the participants that any future policy should seek to increase the quality of the public transport system by:

increasing levels of investment,
securing efficiency savings,
working ‘smarter’.

However, it also found that this unified view is challenged by a desire for the car market to be deregulated, which would engender a very different policy approach. A strategic choice is needed now, to determine whether Havana follows a North American-style trajectory of rapid growth in car use or a less car-dependent pathway.

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