Stimulating Young Talent, Promoting Exchange, Participation, and Transformation: Rethinking Avenida Italia
These are some of the key elements characterizing the urban intervention at a symbolic corner of Centro Habana. With the support and financial backing of Italy, the intersection now has a new look, thanks to the talent of many people who made the transformation possible.
Through the Avenida Italia initiative, the Italian Cooperation and AICS, together with the Provincial Government of Havana, the local government of Centro Habana, and Union Camere Piemonte, are promoting an innovative process to revitalize the urban, economic, and social fabric of this emblematic area of the city.
Since 2022, the project “Integrated Urban Revitalization for Local Strengthening and the Promotion of Emerging, Ecological, Sustainable, Community-Based, and Creative Economies”—also known as Avenida Italia—has carried out cultural and educational activities with a focus on developing the skills of young people and women. The goal is to support the comprehensive recovery of the Centro Habana neighborhood and contribute to enhancing its architectural and urban image.
Training Youth in Participatory Urbanism and Community Regeneration
As part of the project, an intensive training program was developed for young people and women, coordinated and managed directly by the AICS Havana Office.
The final workshop in the training program was the Urban Ideas Lab for Avenida Italia, which brought together 20 young professionals from various disciplines—such as architecture, geography, visual arts, sociology, among others—who brought added value to the content and methodology shared by the innovative collective Ad Urbis, responsible for coordinating the workshop.
Over the course of two weeks, strategies were developed focusing on public space, pedestrian mobility, gender equity in the use of the city, access to productive activities, and urban environmental regeneration. Participants proposed integrated solutions to transform marginalized areas into vibrant and community-oriented environments. The final intervention in the square that hosts the Primavera sculpture by artist Rafael San Juan was the tangible result of this collective process.
A Replicable Model for the City
The project has shown that urban transformation can be inclusive, sustainable, and participatory, with art, youth, and international collaboration as fundamental drivers.
The corner between Avenida Italia and Malecón, once degraded and abandoned, is today a concrete example of how spaces can be reclaimed through creativity, commitment, and the active involvement of young people.
Source: AICS Havana
