Port-city interface: the melting pot of the port-city relationship

The original motivation for the creation of AIVP was exchanging good practices for waterfront redevelopment, after industrial areas lost their original function and could be transformed into new, vibrant urban spaces. Since then, the port-city relationship has become more complex, integrating more environmental, social and economic dimensions, that are reflected on the 10 goals of the AIVP Agenda 2030. However, the port-city interface has remained a key concept for the port-city relationship, while also integrating the new challenges related to the thee dimensions mentioned. Today, the port-city interface is both a space of opportunity and a challenge, is a filter and a meeting point, it is both a physical area and an institutional, environmental, and social membrane where intense interactions between actors take place. Of course, planning this interface is not easy. As we can see in our port cities, some of the original concerns remain: what to do with deactivated port areas? What programs will contribute to a healthy port-city relationship? What planning principles better respond to the concerns connected to sustainable development? Goal 8 of the AIVP Agenda 2030, concerning the port-city interface, bridges to the other 9 goals, from reducing port nuisances to respecting the port cultural heritage. We should not also forget the challenge that is integrating the port in the urban landscape, developing public spaces or responding to the citizen aspirations for this area. In this dossier, we will learn about what several AIVP members are doing to plan a better port-city interface and the challenges they may have found along the way. The Port-City Threshold In her article, Dr. Beatrice Moretti, offers us a new perspective on the concept of the Port-City…