Constructing a Theoretical Framework of the Urban Transformation Processes of the Port City Interface towards Resilient Egyptian Port Cities

Abstract

Throughout history, Egyptian port cities had been formed together as an indissoluble twin in function and space. However, over the last century, most Egyptian ports have been transformed into a complex multi-layer entity with a continuous conflict between port and city actors, and hence, they have become increasingly separated from their cities in physical terms. This separation reflects how the port-city interface is shaped and governed. However, the Egyptian port cities did not receive enough studies to identify the urban transformation processes that shape the port-city interface. To help fill this gap, the research develops a conceptual-theoretical framework to understand urban transformation processes of the port-city interface and the forces that shape those transformations. This framework acts as a first step to form an assisting tool to understand and reframe the nature of the Egyptian case and how to move forward. To build this framework, the research critically reviews the normative literature available on urban planning/design, geography, politics, economy, and urban management of port cities worldwide. It follows the recent conceptualizations of the port city interface that focuses on the actors and societal relationships shaping the port city interface, rather than focusing only on its physical boundaries, dealing with the port city interface as a process, not only as a product. Furthermore, the research presents six European case studies as a manifestation of how governance and social integration influence the formation of the port-city interface. The research finds that understanding the port-city relationship through the lens of profiling urban transformation processes worldwide provides physical, governance and societal integration guidelines, that could help understand the Egyptian port-city relationship on one hand and plan/govern the relationship towards a resilient port city on the other.