Before, ports used to be ‘city ports’, particularly in cities blessed with a river. Growth in trade and ship sizes eventually obliged them to move downstream, in river estuaries, where more space was available. Cities thus became ‘port cities’. Of recent, we observe port activity returning back to the hinterland in the form of inland terminals and dry-ports. However, the relationship between the port and its city, or vice versa, has never been easy. The port needs autonomy, the city requires ‘control’.
Moreover, both port and city need to develop their port and urban plans, and this requires land which can be demanded and contested by both. Can a city and a port coexist in harmony? Carola and Maurice try to answer this through the compilation of eight excellent papers in this new MEL Special Issue. Congratulations and thanks to both guest editors and all the contributors to this new MEL milestone.
HH
