The workshop gathered together experts and representatives from all shores of the Mediterranean, in order to discuss the multifunctional and versatile space that a port has become: the port is part of the waterfront, an urban public space and part of the urban landscape, an industrial zone, a logistic and deposit zone, a point of access as well as a point of multimodal connection, a recreational and leisure area and a commercial area. Mediterranean coastal cities have initiated a process of «reconciliation» and reconnection between the city and the port, since the latter are abandoning their fractal and isolated position between the city and the sea.

On the 16th and 17th of May, in the framework of the Network of Mediterranean Urban Planners, the experts gathered at the Centro Congressi dei Magazzini del Cotone in Porto Antico of Genoa (Italy), have discussed the relationship between ports and cities in the a joint identification of the priorities of the city and in the definition of shared strategies as well as of valuable public-private partnerships.

MedCities contributed to the workshop by discussing on the territorial dynamics induced by port reconversion projects, in concrete focusing on the interactions between the city and the port, considered both an actor and a territorial asset, in the frame of their urban development strategies. Furthermore, a representative of the city of Saida (Lebanon), member of the network, presented and exchanged on the vision of the city with regards to the reallocation of its commercial port and the valorisation of its fishermen port and waterfront into a multifunctional public and economic space.

Other round tables included discussions on the driving role that urban port play urban planning, through shared governance and cooperation between municipal and port stakeholders and through involvement in urban projects to the benefit of a waterfront that can once again become productive. Furthermore, issues related to innovation and sustainability of Mediterranean ports were targeted.

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