La Habana perdió una oportunidad de oro para convertirse en una ciudad verdaderamente amiga de las bicicletas cuando las calles estaban en la práctica vacías de automóviles allá por la década de 1990. ¿La lección en esto? Sólo cuando se tenga un plan integral, holístico, que priorice la bicicleta y los beneficios que proporciona, la Habana será una vez más una ciudad segura, saludable y efi ciente para andar sobre dos ruedas.

The abrupt breakup of the USSR and socialist bloc in the early 1990s dealt a devastating blow to the island’s economy. Almost overnight, beneficial aid and trade provided by the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ground to a halt, including 80% of foreign trade previously conducted as barter and sales of 13 million tons of oil per year at preferential prices. When the Cuban economy bottomed out in 1993, oil imports had dropped from 13 to 4 million tons annually. At the time, Cuba depended almost entirely on imported oil and the dramatic decline in imports created massive blackouts, leaving most Cuban homes without electricity 12 hours a day.

In Cuba, various factors have led to nearly zero population growth and a rapidly aging society. In a few years, the rush of baby-boomers reaching retirement will stand the population pyramid on its head, as the country’s life expectancy already nears 80 years. Almost 20% of all Cubans live in Havana, demographically and structurally an aging city. Yet, the city is not prepared to offer its older inhabitants the spaces, services and housing options they require for a healthy quality of life. Studies must be undertaken to address this issue comprehensively, generating creative alternatives for wise use of limited resources to fulfill the material, social and spiritual needs of this growing population sector.

KEYWORDS Aging, quality of life, social environment, urban health, housing for the elderly, Cuba