Mapping and designing Havana: Republican, socialist and global spaces

Buildings, public spaces and other urban elements are employed to characterize three periods of Havana’s history as it moves to global status as a consequence of the tourist industry. As globalization provokes antagonism between the regional and the global, the paper shows that the challenge for Cuban architects, planners, and urbanists will be to find a middle ground in planning and design that accommodates this global status without forsaking distinctive attributes of Havana’s built environment.