Commitment 06Read more
Port Culture and Identity
Local port identity as a key asset for building a lasting relationship
Developing all types of promenades and other open spaces in City Port interface zones, to promote a better understanding of port and logistic activities.
How can the port activity and heritage be showcased?
The relationship between the port and the city has changed over time, due to spatial rearrangements. Promenades can be used to revitalise the waterfront and reconnect the city with its port. Including promenade routes in port-city projects is both a way of restoring newly reassigned spaces and introducing new visual perspectives of the city and port. Moreover, this new connection with the city can foster the local economy, creating new relations in the port-city interface. Additionally, this integration can showcase the port’s heritage structures to the city. The port of Bellingham decided to highlight its heritage by developing a specific trail connecting some of its historic main points.
This good practice also includes objective 8.2 (Revising the status of port and Port City heritage to properly reflect the historical significance of sites) of the AIVP’s 2030 Agenda.
The Port and the City of Bellingham are in partnership to develop a heritage trail, part of the 50-year development plan for redeveloping the 237-acre Bellingham's waterfront district. The Heritage Trail Concept Plan was developed by Walker Macy and Aldrichpears Associates, whose recommendations were based on a detailed inventory of uses, heritage value and historical context of the different buildings and elements of interest at the site. The trail will also reconnect this central waterfront area of Bellingham with other parts of the city, such as the Old Town and downtown areas, and several parks, including the Maritime Heritage Park, which focuses on the environmental history of Whatcom Creek.
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