Following on from Workshop #1, held in Genoa on 16 and 17 May last in conjunction with two major port authorities, the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille-Fos and the Porto Antico de Genoa, which focused on the reorganisation of sea fronts and city-port relations (urban port, development port and the intelligent port), Workshop #2 of the Network was held on 11 September at the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille-Fos (GPMM). After a welcome by Frédéric Dagnet, the Prospective Director Evaluation/City Port at the GPMM, two round tables were held to discuss, on the one hand, the mix of city-port uses and urban development, and, on the other hand, urban integration, innovation, inclusiveness and sustainability of urban ports. Speakers from the GPMM, the University of Thessaloniki, Euroméditerranée, the Directorate General of Land and Maritime Infrastructure (DGITM), the International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP) and the Port of Tangier City exchanged views on these themes for three hours.
While it is acknowledged by all stakeholders that port cities have historically been built in the shadow of their ports, thus making the link between the city and the port consubstantial, the relationship between the two organizations is often tumultuous. Pivots of the globalised economy, ports play a fundamental role in the development of economic activities, which spill over into the surrounding territories. Following the restructuring of port areas, or even their outright displacement, there has been a real rediscovery of the potential for urban development of the coast. Following a strong logic of spatial rationalisation, an economic development of the abandoned port areas towards urban uses was carried out. Integrated development projects have been devised, aimed at developing a functional mix, combining port activities and urban functions. In addition, it was necessary to solve the equation between the search for a new quality of urban life directly on the coast and the operating constraints and nuisances of certain industrial and port activities. This direct access to water and views of the port are a determining factor in the development of urban real estate, but also in the recognition of the urban identity of the port.
Frédéric Dagnet’s welcoming address provides a general context on the role of ports in a maritime and urban economy, and in particular the port of Marseille in view of its industrial activity and its desire to open up towards a mix with the city.
Round table #1 begins with an introduction by Ambassador Valero, who wishes to recall the Mediterranean coherence of the approach undertaken by AVITEM.
Then, as the first speaker at this round table, Mrs Hastaoglou-Martinidis, Professor Emeritus at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, gave a very complete presentation of the evolution of city-port uses and their reactivation through projects to requalify port sites in the eastern Mediterranean. It thus illustrates its demonstration with examples from ports such as Beirut, Izmir, Alexandria, Istanbul, Haifa and, of course, Thessaloniki. What we must remember from her remarks is that, while rehabilitation projects are formidable tools for urban innovation and development, they are also subject to two proven risks: excessive privatization and the standardized treatment of the heritage resources of requalified areas, which results in a massive loss of the identity of the territories concerned.
Frédéric Dagnet, in the extension of its opening, specifies that the primary vocation of the port remains its industrial and commercial activity. However, the port operator in turn becomes a developing port, with the drafting of two founding documents of this dynamic: the City-Port Charter (signed in 2013) and the Metropolitan-Port Charter, both of which register the Port of Marseille as an actor in the metropolitan cohesion of this territory. Frédéric Dagnet also points out that the operations of mixing between the city and the port of Marseille began with the Silo (which was almost razed) from 2007 to 2011, continued with the Terrasses du Port and will find another version with the Passerelle du J1. Finally, the GPMM’s messages also focus on the social and environmental responsibility of the port: continuous dialogue and consultation with local residents’ associations, commitments to respect environmental standards, particularly under the aegis of the 2030 AIVP Agenda, to move towards a green port, a positive energy port, an innovative and job creator port.
The last speaker at this round table, Rémi Costantino from the EPA Euroméditerranée, recalled the links that structure the relationship between the EPA and GPMM: the founding motivations of the National Interest Operation (OIN) linked to the port hinterland, interlocking governance (cross-participation in the authorities) and the contribution of the City-Port Charter. He specifies that while the initial scope of the operation (1995 – 310 hectares) was based on a logic of functional substitution of the hinterland with, in particular, work on infrastructures linked to port logistics, the 2007 extension (170 hectares) concerned rather the mix of city-port uses with an “attempt” to intertwine functions. For Mr Costantino, this work calls for relative vigilance because port areas, which are artificial by nature, retain different codes from those of urban areas: nuisances against living conditions, differentiated issues. But also real opportunities that are created according to the value of the spaces, the identity that results from belonging to this territory and of course the economic activities that result from it.
Roundtable #2 is introduced by Alain Lecomte, President of the Vivapolis Network, partner of today’s workshop. Mr. Lecomte presented the Vivapolis network and its activities.
Pierre Franc, Deputy Head of Department at the DREAL PACA, Transport, Infrastructure and Mobility Department, representing the Directorate General for Infrastructure, Transport and the Sea (DGTIM) of the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, is the first speaker at this second round table. Putting into perspective the comments of the previous speakers, he developed them in a national context, that of DGTIM. Indeed, for him, the city-port relationship must operate a dynamic at the service of the sustainable development of ports. This is what has been happening in Marseille since the launch of the dialogue between port authorities and local authorities, following two recent examples: the transfer of the Maghreb passenger terminals to Cape Janet and the Corsican passenger terminal in Arenc and the requalification of the J1. Very active in supporting the environmental responsibility of the GPMM, the DGTIM is involved in supporting the port actor in its action to install the dockside connection of ships as well as in the framework of an expertise intended to help the development of combined transport in connection with ports (seaport terminal / rail-road construction site).
The Director General of AIVP, Olivier Lemaire, in turn presented the actions undertaken by the Association to meet the challenge of port sustainability. Faced with global challenges and citizen expectations, ports must embody a true exemplarity through the acceptance and consideration of several transitions (“crossovers”). What is important xtoday is the rediscovery of the port area, its integration into the city under the best conditions and the peaceful relations within a new economic dynamic favourable to sustainable development: biodiversity, circular economy, energy transition, human capital, societal integration (citizenship, training, innovation…).
Finally, the last speaker at the Workshop, Mr Ouanaya, General Manager of the Société d’aménagement pour la reconversion de la zone portuaire de Tanger ville. After the relocation of the industrial and commercial port of Tangier and all its activities between 2006 and 2010, the port of Tangier City retains, in the new project, fishing, cruise and fast ferry activities. For Morocco, this operation is the first project for the reconversion of a port site; it has both a port and urban dimension, and a tourism and cultural dimension. This last element is not neutral because it is a question of positioning the port of Tangier and, beyond the city of Tangier, as a flagship destination for cruise and pleasure tourism on the scale of the Mediterranean. To this end, the project includes the conversion of the fishing port into a marina, the installation of the largest marina in the region and the maintenance of a port dimension with the construction of a new fishing port. The urban dimension is not forgotten, since the programme includes the construction of a mosque, an artisanal shopping centre and an esplanade that provides direct access to the coast. Launched in October 2010, the project was delivered in May 2018, to a few ready-made developments such as the cable car, still in the study phase. For the representative of the port of Tangier City, this operation is exemplary of the capacity of all the authorities concerned to dialogue with each other, to define a common objective and to draw up a balanced Master Plan, distributing public spaces and private surfaces, reflecting the new identity of the territory through emblematic buildings restored and converted, finally to make the site a living and animated place, on the basis of a reconversion that respects the environment.
To read the full transcript of the workshop: link to come