Talk by Carola Hein, Professor and Chair History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology and 2024-2025 research-fellow at the Paris IAS (Sorbonne Université Chair), as part of the MARE Policy Day 2025 in Amsterdam, entitled Ports and People: Navigating the future of inland and sea ports.

Event open to the public with registration.

Presentation

Ports have, for centuries, played a key role in societal development. Many cities began as fishing settlements and evolved into bustling metropolises—for example, Amsterdam, whose origins trace back to a 12th-century fishing community. Historically, ample waterfront space allowed ports to transition into vibrant merchant hubs, laying the foundation of modern economic life. Today, however, port-city coexistence is increasingly challenged. The MARE Policy Day 2025 focuses on the North Sea region and its hinterlands, where competition for land and resources heavily impacts local communities and businesses.

Continuing a tradition of biennial policy reflections, the MARE 2025 Policy Day will explore three key dilemmas:
Waterfront Housing Development
Real estate expansion pushes port activities from city centers, as waterfront land grows more valuable for residential or office usage. Factors like noise and dust can hinder coexistence with port operations.
Cruise Tourism and Over-Tourism
Cruise ship arrivals, combined with other tourism flows, contribute to mass tourism in coastal cities. Many large port cities face the challenge of balancing and governing thousands of cruise passengers and their strain on local infrastructure and quality of life.
Ports as Energy Hubs
Ports are vital for fulfilling the Ostend Declaration’s energy targets (120 GW by 2030 and 300 GW by 2050) through offshore wind and green-fuel production (Power-to-X). These energy hubs face unique safety and security needs.

The objective of MARE Policy Day 2025 is to improve port policies that effectively respond to these challenges, balancing spatial demands with socio-economic needs. We aim to bring together industry representatives, policymakers, and researchers to explore conflict mediation and future governance strategies for port areas.