Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

The perceptions of the Cuban and Switzerland culture as seen by a young Cuban engineer.

Having had the experience of knowing another new culture totally different has been magnificent.
The culture of my country and especially of the city of Havana has been influenced during many years by male chauvinist costumes associated by the roots of the northern Americans and the Russians which was inherited by our godfathers in the two different stages of our development.

These cultural concepts are the base for all this type of events and the planning of the road traffic, public transport and the environment is no exception. The fact that the designs of the roads are in favour of the circulation of the driver and that the interior of the urban territory should have roads that function like principal roads with an elevated circulation velocity, also forms part of one of the cultural consequences that has transcended through to our godfathers.
It’s of our interest then to reach to the root of this problem and try to modify erred concepts through the knowledge of the mobility of the Swiss culture; because they have demonstrated that road designs for pleasant towns are possible.
On the other hand the independent road that this country has taken, has lead to it resolving its own problems and even though this process looks as if it has been influenced by the external economic sanctions, we haven’t yet admitted an adequate space for whom really needs it and not only because of the economic boundaries but because of the predominating modalities we have accepted. In the city more than 70% of the daily displacements are by foot and yet many of our urban roads have one last weak point in the chain, the pedestrians.
This is definitely associated to a cultural problem…

If we now compare two avenues, one in the city of Havana, Cuba and the other in the city of Berne in Switzerland.  
For example: Schwarzenburgstrasse, Berne and the Central road In the Municipal of Cotorro, Havana.
Both roads posses the same  functioning system and have similar characteristics (A great number of commercial centers ,gastronomic centers etc) a great multitude of pedestrians; narrow lanes and a high flow of vehicles since it contains one of roads that proportions mobility for the residents and the workers.
So we ask now…

What is the difference between them then?
The conception in the minds of the planners, engineers and developers is divergent in the different cities and the key point lies in the velocity.
As of the avenue in Switzerland, the circulation velocity is of 20-30km/h which is enormously in favour of the social interaction; it helps in the rational use of public space, maximizes the road capacity and at the same time gives excess to vehicles functioning like a collector.
Yet in our city where people use public space much more; why in the cultural definition that’s accepted, are we more thrown to the streets; we plan and design a road which offers public services of mobility and services.
As of the road of Cotorro the permitted circulation velocity is 50km/h and that when we ask ourselves:
Are we being consequent with the functions of the urban road which in reality stands out for social necessity?
What spectacles do we then need to see? Those of the driver or those of the pedestrian and the cyclist with the evident disadvantage that they have to use zones that socially belong to them….
Nowadays we should really give a great step towards changing the way of thinking and the proof of this difference of cultures constitutes a minimum advance in my country.

La Habana, 11 de junio de 2007/ Ing. Prof. Jessie Madrazo Bacallao, Instituto Superior Politecnico “José Antonio Echeverría” Cujae, Cuba.
Contact Addresses:
In Switzerland:
MSc.ETHZ  Peter Hotz
Metron. SA. Zurich (Switzerland)
Schaffhauserstr 34
CH-8006-Zürich
Email: peter.hotz@metron.ch

In Cuba:
Ing.  Jessie Madrazo Bacallao
Cuaje. Ciudad de la Habana (Cuba)
calle 114 e/ 119 y 127, Marianao
Email: jessie@civil.cujae.edu.cu / yesi_mb@yahoo.es
 

Schwarzenburgstrasse, Köniz/Berne (T30)		Zentralplatz Biel/Berne (T20)
Carretera Central; Cotorro/La Habana		Ave. Rancho Boyeros  /La Habana