PROVISIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE URBANISM ON LARGE-SCALE GREENFIELD SITES IN THE PROXIMITY OF LA HABANA.

Urban Structure: The development site shall be structured as neighborhoods, each not to exceed one km across. This distance encompasses a reasonable pedestrian walking distance from the edge to the center of each neighborhood, where services and transit shall be available.

Land Use: Each cluster of four neighborhoods shall be allocated a measure of commercial services including retail shops and workplaces, such that it is theoretically possible to avoid the displacement of the population for their daily needs. The ratios shall be: for each household: 10 M2 of workplace and 1.5 M2 of retail.

Density: Each neighborhood shall incorporate the range of densities and building types corresponding to those of the historic city of La Habana. Neighborhoods towards the coast may have a preponderance of taller structures, without however eliminating the full range.

Social Integration: Each neighborhood shall provide dwellings for all segments of society: for foreign tourists as well as for citizens. Affordable dwellings shall not be less than 10% nor more than 20% of the total. All dwellings, to be compatible, shall be similar but not the same in appearance.

Security: Security measures shall be achieved at the periphery of the individual building rather than at the periphery of an enclave. For each neighborhood one continuous (24 hr) municipal roving patrol shall be provided by the municipality, and the construction of one municipal police post shall be funded by the developer.

Mass Transit: The urban structure shall support light rail and buses as the preferred mode of transportation, explicitly at the expense of the car. This requires direct street connectivity between neighborhood centers for buses; reservations for rail corridors (including along existing highways); and the provision of dockage for waterborne transportation. The developer shall provide and operate the buses deemed and boats necessary by the municipality to connect the neighborhoods to the inner city of La Habana.

Parking: The developer shall not require that parking be provided on lots. Street parking shall be deemed sufficient for an urbanism to be based on public transit. Parking on lots, when provided, shall be within roofed or trellised structures, fully masked from the street.

Civic Buildings: Within each neighborhood the developer shall reserve sites suitable for one child care center, one primary school and one meeting hall. For each cluster of four neighborhoods the developer shall reserve sites for a fire station, and an upper school. The developer shall fund the construction of the elementary school, the day care center, the meeting hall and the fire station as an integral part of the required infrastructure. The construction of the other civic buildings shall be the responsibility of the municipality.

Increment of development: The size of platting lots and the phasing sequence shall encourage the smallest possible increment of investment and construction. The intention is to create a finely grained urban fabric, to distribute the design work to many Cuban architects and to enable the activity of small construction teams.

Landscape: The developer shall provide, install and maintain landscaping on all thoroughfares, plazas and parks. Species shall generally be shade-providing trees or palms, both native to Cuba requiring little watering and maintenance. The developer shall create a nursery on-site, dedicated to the provisioning of the necessary landscaping for the project such that trees and palms are matched at the time of installation and replacement.

Thoroughfares: The developer shall build and maintain a thoroughfare network that is as permeable as possible, in order to disperse traffic and to connect with adjacent development. These thoroughfares shall be in appropriate variety, including boulevards, avenues, streets and roads. The developer shall also protect reservations along existing highways for transit and additional lanes.

Infrastructure: The developer shall lay water supply lines, electrical supply lines, telephone lines, fibre-optic cable, sanitation, and storm drainage, all underground. Supply wells shall be placed where indicated by the municipality with facilities for pumping and processing provided and funded by the developer. Electrical supply shall be provided by the upgrade of an existing generating plant. Storm and waste water shall be processed by new small-increment bio-processing facilities provided and maintained by the developer. The majority of the storm drainage shall be handled by street flow to small xeric parts where water can permeate the ground or from where it can be piped to the facility

Natural Preservation: The developer shall preserve all waterfronts as public open space and protect public access to them. Certain natural landscapes of particular value, such as hillsides and river valleys shall be preserved as view corridors, clear of noncontributing structures.

Civic Space: The developer shall reserve, construct and equip plazas, parks and playgrounds throughout the urbanized area. The minimum requirement shall be: one plaza within each neighborhood, one park within 2 km of every dwelling and one playground within 1/4 km of every dwelling.

Regional Responsibility: As an integral part of any greenfield development, the developer shall concurrently restore a portion of the building stock in Centro Habana equivalent to one tenth of the building area of the new construction. The municipality shall designate the buildings to be renovated and deliver them to the developer free and clear. The developer shall be permitted to resell these renovated buildings at a profit, one half of which is to be reinvested in further restorations of like kind.

Building Mass: The developer shall dispose the form of buildings up to four stories along the thoroughfares in a manner that supports the spatial definition of the frontage. Portions of buildings above four stories may deviate to avoid the mutual blockage of views, breezes and sunlight.

Energy Conservation: The developer shall ascertain that a minimum of 80% of the rooms of all buildings are cross-ventilated, that all fenestration be operable and that a minimum of 30% of the peripheral ground space adjacent to buildings be shaded by loggia or landscape.

Architectural Syntax: The developer shall follow a set of a guidelines to be administered by the municipality to control the architectural expression of the buildings. These guidelines shall endeavor to achieve visual harmony, to continue the tradition of the Cuban vernacular in its modern interpretations, and to preclude international kitsch.

Construction Technique: The developer shall endeavor to make use of domestic construction materials and techniques, that include handcraft as well as the products of the National prefabrication industry. Construction materials should be domestic, to avoid transportation and importation costs. The developer shall be responsible for the training of Cuban personnel for all imported techniques.

Preservation: The developer shall restore and maintain significant buildings and monuments on site from all periods of Cuban history.

Economics: The profit of the developer should be categorically respected as the motive force of urbanization. However, the property owner, the commercial establishment and the resident shall pay yearly municipal taxes to be determined by the municipality.