REGLA | Participatory Design Research
Role: Participatory Designer, Field Researcher
Team: Felipe Dulzaides, Jorge Peña Díaz, Ayleen Robaina
Date: Summer 2022
External Partners:
Context:
Regla is a municipality that sits at the bottom of Havana Bay, Cuba. It is an industrial suburb with a rich cultural history, specifically related to the Afro-Cuban religious practices that call the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla (Church of Our Lady of Regla) home. In 2018, the Cuban government announced a National Action Plan
Research Questions:
- Given that Cuba relies heavily on a tourism economy, how might small businesses, local governments, and Cuban citizens boost their local economy without compromising the integrity of their lived spaces and cultural heritage?
- How is development managed and executed on the local level? Where does the decision making power reside?
- When residents of Regla consider their future, how do they want their municipality to serve them? On their terms, what would the future of Regla be?
- Historically, music has brought people together in Regla. Music is a vehicle through with social change happens and should be prioritized in future engagements.
- Residents are interested in the technological advancement of their municipality. Most clearly seen through the popularity of the wifi park - residents want some of the perks found in Havana closer to home.
- Community leaders are interested in fast and efficient micro-changes, under the premise that the bureaucracy of the central government impedes rapid progress. They are looking for strategies to mobilize the community to act sooner rather than later.
- The Church of Our Lady Regla is heavily used by locals and is an important religious and cultural institution; future tourist attractions should be found elsewhere throughout the municipality (i.e. museums, restaurants, the ferry, the waterfront).
Output
Archtectural renderings for a new community center on the Bahia