Abstract

Ports are clearly demarcated structures on land and water. They are fenced in, easily recognizable on satellite and orthophoto images, and they have specific functions. This apparent clarity of ports, their function and outline, in relation to nearby urban and rural areas, becomes more complex when explored through the lens of land use, that is the existing and planned future functional dimension or socio-economic purpose of the land. In contrast to urban and rural areas, where land use has been mapped and defined for centuries, the use and function of land and water in port areas has long been multifunctional and not defined on land use maps. This raises questions about the role and understanding of port territory in relation to neighboring spaces, past, and present. This article first defines land use and describes its historical development. Scholars from various disciplines, including geographers, planners, and economists, have addressed the issue of land use in port areas. Land use patterns have emerged over time and are based on earlier demarcations of port areas and distinctions between port and city. As shown by the historical port city borders in Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Koper, these delimitations can change over time, by location and by function. The land use register has only recently been harmonized at the European level. European and national registers distinguish existing and planned land use in port areas differently. Mixed uses prevail in new port interventions, creating a new kind of permeability or porosity; that is, areas where port, urban and rural functions merge. New land use porosity is a particular state of land use (on both sides of the boundaries of port areas) that goes beyond the physical boundaries marked by fences. Land use porosity effectively creates land use continuity, a functional porosity that serves as a hidden blueprint for future planning. Understanding land use porosity can provide a foundation for novel approaches to the development of transition strategies that are needed to address contemporary challenges, including climate change and sea level rise, digitization, and new work and life practices in port city regions. In conclusion, we note that due to the porosity of land use patterns, the separation between the present port and the city is beginning to crumble. However, this process has yet to be made fully visible and used as a basis for design.

Highlights

  • Port areas are clearly recognizable structures on satel‐ lite and orthophoto images of metropolitan areas, sim‐ ilar to airports, traffic systems, and industrial areas.Urban Planning, 2021, Volume 6, Issue 3, Pages 136–151Usually, port areas are surrounded by physical fences, such as walls, wire fences, metal fences, boards, and large infrastructures, that separate the port territory from other urban and rural landscapes

  • To better understand the challenges created by the inter‐ related development of two areas, one controlled by national, regional, or local urban land use planning and the other usually exclusively in the hand of port author‐ ities, we explore the interconnectedness of land use on both sides of the fences surrounding ports

  • In order to find an answer to these questions, this arti‐ cle examines the characteristics of land use, internal and external port boundaries over time and today in three port cities—Hamburg (Germany), Rotterdam, and Koper (Slovenia)—selected here as pilot studies because of the authors’ advanced knowl‐ edge of these three sites

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Summary

Introduction

Port areas are clearly recognizable structures on satel‐ lite and orthophoto images of metropolitan areas, sim‐ ilar to airports, traffic systems, and industrial areas. Many invis‐ ible boundary lines—such as land use borders—remain unseen in situ and in aerial observation and exist only in specific inventories Largely invisible, these land use designations can have long‐lasting impact on a port’s spatial development and on the urban and rural areas in its vicinity. The blankness (Kipnis & Maymind, 2013; Unger, 1991) when it comes to land use within port areas poses a challenge for future planning, espe‐ cially regarding environmental impact, energy transition, and contact with neighboring urban and rural areas. It raises questions regarding the role and under‐ standing of the port territory. In order to find an answer to these questions, this arti‐ cle examines the characteristics of land use, internal and external port boundaries over time and today in three port cities—Hamburg (Germany), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), and Koper (Slovenia)—selected here as pilot studies because of the authors’ advanced knowl‐ edge of these three sites

On Land Use
Historic Development of Land Use
Previous Research on Land Use in and Around Port Areas
Delimitation of the Port Areas
Contemporary Land Use in the EU and National Databases
Porosity of Port Areas in the Three Selected Port Cities
Findings
Conclusions
Full Text
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