According to Elio Guevara Romero of El Grupo, "The main goal of the model is for Cubans to
be educated about urban culture and to understand the place where they live." Groups of school
children and members of various clubs visit the model daily. Architecture and planning students
also make use of the model. It is also used to assist with urban planning decisions.

Much of El Grupo's work involves the participation of neighborhood residents in the planning
process through ecological urbanization workshops. The goals of these workshops for neighborhood
transformation are to help residents re-establish a sense of neighborhood identity and to encourage
local participation in planning community revitalization projects. Professional planners, architects
and sociologists work with local residents to develop projects that improve housing, provide employment
opportunities, including the involvement of women in construction and the production of construction
materials. In some neighborhoods an important goal has been to help residents rescue some of their
African cultural traditions. The group has also helped neighborhoods establish urban gardens in
blighted spaces between high rise apartment buildings.