Alamar is a new city built in the 1970s in the outskirts of La Habana, Cuba, mostly with rudimental prefabricated technologies inherited from the soviets. It has been put in place through self-construction teams of 32 citizens employed in the so called microbrigadas: a system affecting not only the way the physical environment has been produced, but also the social texture formed in the process.
Once an unattractive place, formerly on the East-West border and at the periphery of public discourse, it has recently become an area of new interest for different social groups. Over the years it has welcomed a mainly Turkish community, but now young people from all over Europe are attracted to Neukölln by its affordable rents, and new bars, art galleries and trendy shops are appearing. However, rents are increasing dramatically, and Neukölln is showing signs of gentrification, which raises debates about the future of the district and its low-income inhabitants.