Editing Havana (section)

== Economy ==
[[File:Lonja del Comercio de La Habana vista desde la Avenida del Puerto.jpg|thumb|[[Lonja del Comercio building]]]]
Havana has a diversified economy, with traditional sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, transportation and communications, and new or revived ones such as biotechnology and tourism.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

The city's economy first developed on the basis of its location, which made it one of the early great trade centers in the New World. Sugar and a flourishing [[slave]] trade first brought riches to the city, and later, after independence, it became a renowned resort. Despite efforts by Fidel Castro's government to spread Cuba's industrial activity to all parts of the island, Havana remains the center of much of the nation's industry.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Havana/People | title=Havana - People &#124; Britannica }}</ref>

The traditional sugar industry, upon which the island's economy has been based for three centuries, is centered elsewhere on the island and controls some three-fourths of the export economy. But light manufacturing facilities, meat-packing plants, and chemical and pharmaceutical operations are concentrated in Havana. Other food-processing industries are also important, along with shipbuilding, vehicle manufacturing, production of alcoholic beverages (particularly rum), textiles, and tobacco products, particularly the world-famous [[Habanos S.A.|Habanos]] cigars.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macalester.edu/courses/geog61/jtahtinen/economy.html |title=The economy of Havana |publisher=Macalester.edu |access-date=2010-04-17 |archive-date=2012-08-05 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805052129/http://www.macalester.edu/courses/geog61/jtahtinen/economy.html }}</ref> Although the [[harbor]]s of [[Cienfuegos]] and [[Matanzas]], in particular, have been developed under the revolutionary government, Havana remains Cuba's primary port facility; 50% of Cuban imports and exports pass through Havana. The port also supports a considerable fishing industry.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In 2000, nearly 89% of the city's officially recorded labor force worked for government-run agencies, institutions or enterprises. Havana, on average, has the country's highest incomes and human development indicators. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba re-emphasized tourism as a major industry leading to its recovery. Tourism is now Havana and Cuba's primary economic source.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/conferences/cuba/TLCP/Volume%201/Facio.pdf |title=Tourism in Cuba during the Special Period |access-date=2010-04-17|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100725185350/http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/conferences/cuba/TLCP/Volume%201/Facio.pdf |archive-date = 25 July 2010}}</ref>

Havana's economy is still in flux, despite Raúl Castro's embrace of free enterprise in 2011. Though there was an uptick in small businesses in 2011, many have since gone out of business, due to lack of business and income on the part of the local residents, whose salaries average $20 per month.<ref>{{cite web|last=AP|title=Lack of Customers Dooms Many Cuban Businesses|url=http://weeklytimes.com/lack-of-customers-dooms-many-cuban-businesses/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228034327/http://weeklytimes.com/lack-of-customers-dooms-many-cuban-businesses/|archive-date=28 December 2013|publisher=Weekly Times|access-date=27 December 2013|date=27 December 2013}}</ref>

=== Commerce and finance ===
After the Revolution, Cuba's traditional capitalist free-enterprise system was replaced by a heavily socialized economic system. In Havana, Cuban-owned businesses and U.S.-owned businesses were nationalized and today most businesses operate solely under state control.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In Old Havana and throughout Vedado there are several small private businesses, such as shoe-repair shops or dressmaking facilities. Banking as well is also under state control, and the [[National Bank of Cuba]], headquartered in Havana, is the control center of the Cuban economy. Its branches in some cases occupy buildings that were in pre-revolutionary times the offices of Cuban or foreign banks.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In the late 1990s Vedado, located along the atlantic waterfront, started to represent the principal commercial area. It was developed extensively between 1930 and 1960, when Havana developed as a major destination for U.S. tourists; high-rise hotels, [[casino]]s, restaurants, and upscale commercial establishments, many reflecting the art deco style.<ref>{{cite web|title=De una casa colonial a una mansión del Vedado |url=http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/cats.asp?cID=83 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041013131209/http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/cats.asp?cID=83 |archive-date=13 October 2004 |access-date=11 July 2011 |language=es }}</ref>

[[Vedado]] is today Havana's financial district, and the main banks, airline companies offices, shops, most businesses headquarters, numerous high-rise apartments and hotels, are located in the area.<ref>{{cite web|title=britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-624418/Vedado |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012165946/https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-624418/Vedado |archive-date=12 October 2007 |access-date=11 July 2011 }}</ref> The University of Havana is located in Vedado.

=== Tourism ===
[[File:Havana sightseeing bus.jpg|thumb|right|Sight-seeing busses at the [[Parque Central, Havana|Parque Central]]]]

The city has long been a popular attraction for tourists. Between 1915 and 1930, Havana hosted more tourists than any other location in the [[Caribbean]].<ref name="Miguel">{{cite conference |last1=Figueras |first1=Miguel Alejandro |title=International Tourism and the Formation of Productive Clusters in the Cuban Economy |url=http://www.world-tourism.org/quality/E/docs/trade/cubacontrib.pdf |conference=[[Latin American Studies Association]], 22nd Congress |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040805035546/http://www.world-tourism.org/quality/E/docs/trade/cubacontrib.pdf |archive-date=2004-08-05 |location=Washington, D.C. |date=September 2001 }}</ref> The influx was due in large part to [[Cuba-United States relations|Cuba's proximity to the United States]], where restrictive [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]] on [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and other pastimes stood in stark contrast to the island's traditionally relaxed attitude to leisure pursuits. A pamphlet published by E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, WI, between 1921 and 1939 promoting tourism in Havana, Cuba, can be found in the University of Houston Digital Library, Havana, Cuba, The Summer Land of the World, Digital Collection.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu/collections/44558f90v?locale=en | title=Havana, Cuba: The Summer Land of the World // Digital Collections }}</ref>

With the deterioration of [[Cuba – United States relations]] and the imposition of the [[United States embargo against Cuba|trade embargo]] on the island in 1961, tourism dropped drastically and did not return to anything close to its pre-revolution levels until 1989. The revolutionary government in general, and [[Fidel Castro]] in particular, opposed any considerable development of tourism. In 1982, the Cuban government passed a foreign investment code which opened a number of sectors to foreign capital.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Through the creation of firms open to such foreign investment (such as ''Cubanacan''), Cuba began to attract capital for hotel development, managing to increase the number of tourists from 130,000 (in 1980) to 326,000 (by the end of that decade).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilkinson |first=Stephen |date=2008 |title=Cuba's Tourism 'Boom': A Curse or a Blessing? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20455086 |journal=Third World Quarterly |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=979–993 |doi=10.1080/01436590802106189 |jstor=20455086 |issn=0143-6597}}</ref>

Havana has also been a popular [[health tourism]] destination for more than 20 years. Foreign patients travel to Cuba, Havana in particular, for a wide range of treatments including [[eye-surgery]], [[neurological]] disorders such as [[multiple sclerosis]] and [[Parkinson's disease]], and [[orthopaedics|orthopedics]]. Many patients are from Latin America, although medical treatment for [[retinitis pigmentosa]], often known as [[night blindness]], has attracted many patients from Europe and North America.<ref>[http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3085--6-6--.html A Novel Tourism Concept] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128054658/http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-3085--6-6--.html |date=28 January 2010 }} Caribbean News Net</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3284995.stm |title = Cuba sells its medical expertise|work = BBC News|first = Tom |last = Fawthrop|date = 21 November 2003}}</ref>
Havana attracts over a{{nbsp}}million tourists annually,<ref name="Havana Tourism"/> the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists,<ref name="Havana Tourism"/> a 20% increase from 2005.

=== Poverty and slums ===
{| border="1" style="float:right;" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"
|+
|-
!colspan=9| Housing Units and Population of Havana Slums<ref name=Censo_vivienda>INV, Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda (2001a) Boletín Estadístico Anual. 2001. INV, Havana.</ref><ref name=Problemas_socioambientales />
|-
! style="background:#efefef;"|Housing type
! style="background:#efefef;"|Year
! style="background:#efefef;"|Units
! style="background:#efefef;"|Population
! style="background:#efefef;"|% of Total Pop.
|-
| '''''cuartería<sup>(a)</sup>''''' || 2001 || 60,754 || 206,564 || 9.4
|-
| '''[[slum]]s''' || 2001 || 21,552 || 72,986 || 3.3
|-
| '''[[Refugee shelter|shelters]]''' || 1997 || 2,758 || 9,178 || 0.4
|-
|colspan=5|<small><sup>'''(a)'''</sup>A '''''cuartería''''' (or '''''ciudadela''''', '''''solar''''') is a large inner-city old mansion or hotel or<br /> boarding house subdivided into rooms, sometimes with over 60 families.<ref name=cuarteria_def>{{cite book|author1=Dick Cluster|author2=Rafael Hernández|title=The History of Havana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-yxUyss_ycC&pg=PA145|year=2006|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4039-7107-4|page=145}}</ref></small>
|}
The years after the [[Soviet Union]] collapsed in 1991, the city, and Cuba in general have suffered decades of economic deterioration, including [[Special Period]] of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cuba - Overview|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/cuba/index.html|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=1 December 2011|first=Victoria|last=Burnett}}</ref> The national government does not have an official definition of poverty.<ref name=Cub_eco>Angela, Ferriol Maruaga; et al.: ''Cuba crisis, ajuste y situación social (1990–1996)'', La Habana, Cuba : Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 1998, Champter 1</ref> The government researchers argue that "poverty" in most commonly accepted meanings does not really exist in Cuba, but rather that there is a sector of the population that can be described as "at risk" or "vulnerable" using internationally accepted measures.<ref name=Cub_eco />

The generic term "[[slum]]" is seldom used in Cuba, substandard housing is described: housing type, housing conditions, building materials, and settlement type. The National Housing Institute considers units in ''solares'' (a large inner-city mansion or older hotel or boarding house subdivided into rooms, sometimes with over 60 families)<ref name=cuarteria_def /> and [[shanty towns]] to be the "precarious housing stock" and tracks their number. Most slum units are concentrated in the inner-city municipalities of [[Old Havana]] and [[Centro Habana]], as well as such neighborhoods as ''Atarés'' in [[Regla]].<ref name=Problemas_socioambientales>González Rego, R. 1999. "Una Primera Aproximación al Análisis Espacial de los Problemas Socioambientales en los Barrios y Focos Insalubres de Ciudad de La Habana". Facultad de Filosofía e Historia. Departamento de Sociología, Universidad de La Habana. 250 p.</ref> People living in slums have access to the same education, health care, job opportunities and social security as those who live in formerly privileged neighborhoods. [[Shanty towns]] are scattered throughout the city except for in a few central areas.<ref name=Problemas_socioambientales />

Over 9% of Havana's population live in ''cuartería'' (''solares, ciudadela''), 3.3% in [[shanty towns]], and 0.3% in refugee shelters.<ref name=Censo_vivienda /><ref name=Problemas_socioambientales /> This does not include an estimate of the number of people living in housing in "fair" or "poor" condition because in many cases these units do not necessarily constitute slum housing but rather are basically sound dwellings needing repairs. According to ''Instituto Nacional de Vivienda'' (National Housing Institute) official figures, in 2001, 64% of Havana's 586,768 units were considered in "good" condition, up from 50% in 1990. Some 20% were in "fair" condition and 16% in "poor" condition.<ref name=Problemas_socioambientales /> Partial or total building collapses are not uncommon, although the number had been cut in half by the end of the 1990s as the worst units disappeared and others were repaired. Buildings in Old Havana and Centro Habana are especially exposed to the elements: high humidity, the corrosive effects of salt spray from proximity to the coast, and occasional flooding. Most areas of the city, especially the highly populated districts, are in [[urban decay]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=24 March 2007|title=Havana's former grandeur decays and crumbles|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-havana-idUSN2034616720070324|access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref>