Abstract
AbstractPort and city authorities all over Europe and beyond are striving with finding solutions able to combine sustainability with economic growth. Several global urgencies in fact, such as climate change, energy transition, the exponential changes in the scale of ports and ships and last but not least the economic and health shock related to the coronavirus pandemic, are challenging the spaces where ports physically meet their cities, generating processes of caesura within the urban patterns with consequent impacts on the quality of life. In port cities, infrastructures and energy flows overlap with city flows and patterns that change with different rhythms and temporalities. This discrepancy creates abandonment and marginality between port and city. This today is no longer sustainable. New approaches and solutions that look at integration and circularity rather than separation are necessary.Circularity has been widely discussed in the literature. However, the concept still remains very controversial, especially when it comes to port cities where new definitions are needed in particular to better understand the spatial dimension of circularity. The Rotterdam therefore case study stands exemplary. Here, the concept of the circular economy refers mostly to the theme of obsolete industrial buildings and marginal that are reinserted again within the urban metabolism. The case of Rotterdam points out that the competition of the port today goes through the quality of its relationship spaces and the ability of the different actors involved in the planning process to hold together economic growth and environmental sustainability. The areas along the river are in fact the most fascinating places in the city and today they are ready for a different use. In order for the city to become an attractive place to live it is necessary to build new, innovative and sustainable spatial visions. This will lead to scenarios of sustainable coexistence between port and city. Therefore, these two agendas (sustainable port and city attractiveness) came together in the area known as Makers district (M4H) which, together with RDM campus, represents the Rotterdam testing ground for innovation.Therefore, this chapter, by arguing that ports will play a crucial role in the transition towards more circularity investigates how to make it happen and how to transform the challenges of the port into opportunities for a territorial regeneration towards new forms of integration. In order to answer the question, the case of Rotterdam is presented to analyse a model of urban regeneration where different planning agencies—mainly port authority, municipality, universities and private parties—work together at different scales to define a sustainable coexistence of interests. The research, which draws data on existing literature and policy documents analysis, firstly introduces the spatial and governance structures of the city of Rotterdam as part of a bigger metropolitan region. Secondly, it analyses the case of “Stadshavens strategy” as an emblematic example to overcome conflicts and path dependencies at the intersection of land and water. Finally, it concludes by highlighting some limitations and path dependencies that could make the transition to new forms of the circular economy very difficult in the future.
Highlights
Rotterdam Towards a Twofold ObjectivePort cities in Europe cannot be properly understood as a comprehensive entity
This chapter proposes to look at the port territory of Rotterdam and its spatial transformations as closely connected to the history of its institutions
We have analysed and discussed the case of Rotterdam which is peculiar for how city and port authority’s visions intertwine when there are common values
Summary
Port cities in Europe cannot be properly understood as a comprehensive entity. On the contrary, they consist of peculiar aspects in relation to geography, economy, and governance. They consist of peculiar aspects in relation to geography, economy, and governance These elements play a fundamental role in shaping the identity of each port city. Port and city authorities tend to become committed to developing strategies to reinforce their historical beliefs and values (De Martino, 2020b; De Martino & Hein, 2020; Sorensen, 2018). This chapter focuses on the case of Rotterdam where different authorities are working on breaking path dependence by developing a twofold objective: on the one hand, by improving the economic position of the port and, on the other hand, by revitalizing port-city relationship from a historical, cultural and social perspective.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have