New Faces of Harbour Cities

Book excerpt: New Faces of Harbour Cities explores the changing so-called “faces” of harbour cities. Whilst urban regeneration and harbour cities are discussed as related realms within the wider field of urban competitiveness, few studies have attempted to give place to the broader set of economic, social, legal, environmental and cultural dimensions of urban waterfront regeneration in harbour cities concerning not only Western and Northern Europe, but also Aegean and Mediterranean cities. The book provides a multi-disciplinary, yet holistic analysis of the port-city interface as a major goal of creating new domains of entrepreneurial activity. Offering noteworthy potential, the abandonment of port districts offers new opportunities in placing brownfield port areas back into public use through their comprehensive revitalization. With the rapid growth of special interest in the waterfront regeneration of port districts, many harbour cities in the world are making an effort to give their cities a brand new “face”. However, there are still specific cases showing that this goal may not always find success, as is discussed for various cities in this book. Key features of the book include a highly readable discussion of the relationship between urban waterfront regeneration and port cities that both address to the evolution of the port-city interface and contemporary patterns of activity. The book also includes a wide range of international case studies in both developed and developing cities, whilst providing a balanced view of the critical issues and related cases. While focusing on key themes, the discussion also considers the critique of issues such as risk management, legal challenges in planning and the balance between the need for logistic activities and brownfield regeneration of port districts as a major asset in terms of urban image. As such, New Faces of Harbour Cities will serve as an important reference to academic studies that explore key themes such as urban waterfront regeneration, brownfield development, the port-city interface, green energy, mixed-use regeneration, and legal aspects in planning.