Abstract
As awareness of the negative externalities created by ports increases, and the perceived local benefits decrease, ports must find new ways to improve the local noneconomic benefits they provide if they are to obtain local support. This global survey collected data from 51 ports in 26 countries. The results highlight a recognition by port authorities that ports face increasing pressure from local residents to reduce their negative impacts and that they should seek to improve the public perception towards the port by increasing local benefits. At present, port information and social media (81%), port events (67%) and education (63%) are the most adopted options. There is a lack of evidence that these measures are effective in improving local perceptions. Maritime museums and public access show a positive association with increasing local awareness of the benefits a port provides, despite their lower levels of adoption (45%). Port centres are the least adopted option at present (29%) and can be expected to increase significantly, with a 43% increase anticipated between numbers of current and expected future centres. Education (14%), public access (13%) and maritime museums (4.5%) also show increases in levels of interest. Maritime museums and public access should be pursued as proven, effective options for improving local perceptions of ports, whilst port centres may provide a new focal point for port-related social and cultural activities.
Highlights
Ports create a range of economic, environmental and social impacts for their local areas
The majority of ports are interested in improving the local attitudes towards the port (39, 89%) and feel under pressure from local residents to reduce their negative impacts (33, 67%)
There is a lack of consensus about whether local populations are aware of the benefits ports provide and whether or not their attitude towards the port is positive
Summary
Ports create a range of economic, environmental and social impacts for their local areas. Existing work has primarily focused on the economic and environmental aspects, with a lack of research conducted on the social impacts of ports for cities and local areas [2]. Many port cities have long histories of casual labour and develop large migrant communities. This led to the establishment of the oldest Chinese community in Europe [3] and large numbers of Irish and Welsh migrants, with 300,000 Irish migrants arriving in one year alone and an estimated 20,000 Welsh migrants arriving every decade between 1850 and. It is hard to imagine how the city and its people would have developed if the city had never been a port This illustrates how the impacts of ports go far beyond the simple movement of goods and people and economic aspects. The link between the city and the port had been strong and a part of everyday life [10]; this relationship has faced many challenges
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