Havana just celebrated its 500th Anniversary. This city’s historical roots in our hemisphere is unmatched. Havana is a jewel of architectural preservation. Its urban layout provides a live laboratory of the last five centuries of urban planning. Havana, however, remains a challenging place in which to do real estate. These four disciplines converge in an art, culture, and economic environment like nowhere else in the world.
The course will be divided in three weeks. Week 1 will be at UMD. During this week the course will be introduced and framed; each discipline will be explored; and we’ll go over the logistics of the journey.
The 2nd week, once on site in Havana, the journey will be experiential, highlighting walking and interacting with key individuals in the four disciplines, students, and the Cuban people. To better understand the interdisciplinary realities in Havana, the agenda will organized along Havana’s neighborhoods, plazas, landmarks, paths, and churches. Superimposed in the observation of the physical aspects of the City, we will discuss the regulatory environment, political reality, access to capital, investors and owners.
The 3rd week will be back in UMD, debriefing, analyzing, and concluding the experience of the journey.
Logistics will be arranged by CityMouse, LLCl, a company led by Manela Diez a retired linguistic professor from Georgetown University. Manela has extensive experience in journeys to Cuba, primary helping Cuban-Americans reconnect with their homeland and regain an appreciation for the country’s people through the arts and culture.
Read about the new study abroad course in Havana, Cuba through the student's city narrative.
