Havana: Two Faces of the Antillean Metropolis. Scarpaci, J.L, Segre, R., and Coyula, M. London and Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.

From the Publisher

“One of the oldest and most celebrated cities in the Western Hemisphere, Havana is a fascinating metropolis where history has left its handprint on every corner. Here, an international trio of well-known architects and planners assesses nearly five hundred years of development in the Cuban capital. They offer an insightful introduction to Havana's historic architecture and modern buildings, its social and economic fabric, its diverse people, and its contemporary challenges and opportunities.

From the colonial and early republican periods, through the 1959 revolution, and into the post-Soviet era and today, the authors trace

Havana's physical evolution and place it in the context of important political, economic, and cultural developments. This new edition—which has been completely revised, redesigned, and updated since the book's original publication in 1997--also highlights recent restoration efforts in Old Havana, commercial development projects throughout the city, and the wide-ranging effects of international tourism.”

From The Critics

Lingua Franca

"An exciting portrait of one of Latin America's most important cities, Havana takes us beyond the usual coffee-table-book photos of crumbling eighteenth-century archways, emphasizing instead the private experience of Havana's denizens. "

Review of Radical Political Economics

“Perhaps no three scholars are better qualified to describe and explain the reality of Havana to social scientists interested in urbanity than the authors of this extraordinary book. Such fruitful collaboration between Cuban and American scholars is rare, and in this case the results are rich.”

Environment and Planning A

“A seminal work that belongs on any Cubanologist's bookshelf, and an essential text for anyone reading to prepare for a trip to the island.

It is also an important work for scholars with only a passing interest in the specifics of Havana's built environment, but who also focus on

urban history, architectural forms, state socialism, or Cuba's post-Soviet transition.”

Journal of Architectural Education

“The best available reference on the urban development and planning of Havana since its foundation in 1519. What emerges is a complex portrait of Havana's polycentric structure and the processes that have defined it."

Andres Duany - from the Foreword "

“This book is an extraordinary document, not least because its subject is a truly great city, perhaps the most interesting in the New World.”