Cuba's Urban Landscape Needs a Second Round of Innovation for Health

Cuba's economy spiraled downward in the 1990s, reeling from the collapse of European socialism and a tightened US embargo. To mitigate the crash's drastic effects, measures were adopted that transformed our urban landscape, especially in large cit- ies such as Havana, paradoxically linking the period to nascent health-promoting options. One of the most important was the introduction of bicycle lanes on city streets, paths daily ridden by people on the over one million bicycles imported to offset the nearly nonexistent public transport caused by fuel shortag- es. Second, urban gardens began to sprout up, involving urban dwellers in production of their own food, particularly vegetables. Without minimizing the impact of the crisis, these two seemingly disparate phenomena meant people were getting more exercise, consuming fewer fats and carbohydrates and more fresh vege- tables. People were even breathing fresher air, with fewer CO 2 - belching trucks, old cars and buses on the streets and less diesel used to transport produce in from afar. But cycling and urban gardens met opposite fates as the econo- my gradually recovered from its darkest period: the bicycle paths and lanes have disappeared, replaced by the old cars that are such a tourist attraction, but whose emissions threaten even the hardiest lungs. The urban gardens, on the other hand, have sur- vived, and in many cases thrived—although I would argue they could certainly be better planned and expanded. Why were the bicycles shelved, in favor of cars and a public tran- sit system that has not improved all that much? My own view is subjective, but I would wager one big reason is the association in people's minds between the two-wheelers and abject poverty: cycling was something we did when we didn't have a choice. Curiously—just at a time when bicycles represent a trend in Euro- pean and North American cities, recognized for the benefi ts of exercise they offer, even making bicycle rentals an inexpensive option(1)—in Cuba, they are an "endangered urban artifact" of a past we would rather not remember. They may have also suffered from policy neglect, unlike the urban gardens, which have remained a priority as the country works towards import substitution and food security. Decades after they were fi rst introduced, the gardens are enjoying something of a renaissance, the object of renewed government emphasis. Their production is rising, as are their sales. One national authority even went so far as to say publicly that the gardens have made Havana self-suffi cient in leafy green vegetables—one of the most important components of a healthy diet.