Man doing labour work in the streets of Old Havana City

Description

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 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 neighbourhoods as Atarés in Regla.

People living in slums have access to the same education, health care, job opportunities and social security as those who live in formerly privileged neighbourhoods.