Planners at the Group for the Integral Development of the Capitol (El Grupo) have been developing innovative planning techniques for the entire
Havana region since 1988. With offices, workshops and a public display facility located in the Havana suburb of Miramar, the centerpiece of El Grupo's
efforts has been the creation of a large 1:1000 scale model of the Havana area that is used for regional planning and public education.
This one hundred forty-four square meter model, constructed in two meter by two meter sections, features scale replicas of all buildings, streets,
and natural features in three dimensions. To help illustrate the historical evolution of the region, the buildings are color-coded by age: brown for
those constructed between 1500 and 1900; yellow for those built between 1900 and 1959; beige for those made after 1959; and white for monuments and
those buildings under construction. Three, two meter by two meter sections constructed by El Grupo technicians are at added to the model each year.