College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

Published: Spring 2014
By: MSU Center for Community and Econmic Development, Community News and Views newsletter

Written by: Rex LaMore, director of the Center for Community and Economic Development and Urban & Regional Planning (URP) senior specialist in the School of Planning, Design and Construction, both at Michigan State University

Imagine a place where the economy has been isolated for more than 50 years from the vicissitudes of the largest economic system on the planet. Imagine that following the end of the Soviet Union, an estimated 80 percent of your economy's imports and exports simply disappeared. Imagine an island where fuel shortages combined with the loss of modern fertilizers led to an explosion in community organic gardens, while, as some observers remarked, the average citizen may have lost up to 20 lbs. off their previous body weight. No replacement parts for equipment, no access to many consumer goods, such as soap, detergents, on and on . . . a place isolated both politically and economically.

I am of course referring to Cuba, our island neighbor 90 miles south of the tip of Florida. This past December I had the unique opportunity as a U.S. citizen to travel to Cuba. I was invited to participate in an MSU Study Abroad program organized by Rene Hinojosa, a professor of Urban & Regional Planning in the MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction.

Hinojosa has organized several trips and exchanges with Cuba over the past few years and this particular study trip was for MSU freshmen from our Honors College and focused on historic preservation and sustainability. This study abroad experience was rather unique in that students were enrolled for two semesters in which they examined the history and culture of Cuba, and each student developed and presented a research report on some aspect of sustainability or historic preservation. As freshmen they had a unique cultural experience combined with an intensive course of study on the basics of cross-cultural research design and implementation. Students' research interests varied, as you might expect, from citizen perceptions of historic preservation, to attitudes on happiness and consumerism, to the quality of bottled water.

Many students used a comparative approach to their research, seeking to compare and contrast the context of Detroit to that of Havana, Cuba. While time and resources did not permit them to conduct what we would call a rigorous analysis, they did begin to discover for themselves some rather interesting similarities and differences in these two cities ranging from the nature and extent of urban gardening to the effects of not having cell phone service for social interaction. For some of the students it was the first time they had ever been unable to text friends and families on a regular basis . . . and they noted in some of our debriefing sessions that as a result of not being able to text whenever/wherever, they talked more to each other!

As a community economic developer of more than 35 years there are a couple of takeaways from this experience that I would like to share with my colleagues. First, there is an emerging free market economy surfacing in Havana. The Cuban National Assembly has designated “Old Havana” as a unique district in which private enterprise is allowed. As you can imagine in a centralized state run economy like Cuba, this is a big step. A select number of hotels, restaurants and primarily tourist based enterprises are now being allowed to operate in the historic areas of Havana for the purposes of attracting tourists (Europeans, Canadians and others) to Cuba. These businesses are taxed and the revenues generated are reinvested in the restoration of Old Centre Havana. From what I was able to observe in my short visit, Cuba is attempting to support redevelopment in this targeted area very much like our Downtown Development Authorities. Old Centre Havana has some of the Western Hemispheres most unique historic buildings, many registered with UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. The preservation of these treasures is a critical but difficult task given the limited resources available to Cuba.

We have invited Ayleen Robainas Barcia, Architect and a leader in Havana’s restoration to join us at our Sept. 4, 2014, University Center for Regional Economic Innovation (REI) Summit at the MSU Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing, Michigan, to learn about the historic private enterprise zone being piloted in Old Havana and how it is helping to rebuild, revitalize and preserve the Old Centre of Havana. As an example of self-sufficient urban development with limited resources, the lessons being learned in Havana today are highly relevant to Michigan’s community revitalization efforts.

I observed a very modest lifestyle exhibited by most of the Cubans I met . . . from physicians to teachers. As an isolated island economy they are very prudent in their consumptive behavior. Lots of folks ride the buses (a few have the 50s-era cars you see in the travelogues . . . but don’t be fooled by those, they are not museum pieces. Often as not it is a Chevy body with a scavenged Soviet truck engine (they are imaginative!). But while they lack material goods they have a very rich and vibrant cultural sector in music, dance, art and prose.

Finally, the Cuban people I met were welcoming and uniquely curious about U.S. citizens. They don’t see many of us (I was often asked if I was Canadian) and most of them expressed a sincere curiosity about why we don’t seem to get along. I am old enough to remember the Cuban Missile crisis (more accurately the Soviet Missile Crisis, because they were Soviet missiles not Cuban!). I remember vividly the fear of potential global nuclear confrontation, but most of the Cubans alive today don’t have a living recollection of that event. They found it difficult to understand why we have apparently forgiven Russia for the missile crisis, communist China for Korea, Germany and Japan for World War II, but not Cuba.

Cuba is an island nation in transition. It is a neighbor to whom we are physically close, but economically and socially segregated from. They have a strong culture of self-determination, something we share in common. In reflecting on my visit to Cuba and the many lessons learned, perhaps this is a situation where stepping back will move us forward.

For more information contact Rex LaMore at lamore@msu.edu.

http://ced.msu.edu/upload/newsletters/Spring2014_Community%20News%20and%20Views.pdf