Assessment and development of historical ports

The increasing spatial and functional disconnection between port and city areas, resulting from the evolution of naval production and transport in post-industrial times, has modified the port–city relationships, whereas the port was typically the founding settlement of the ancient town, the pole of the urban framework, as well as the commercial and cultural intersection of a variety of ethnic groups and social classes. Such a disconnection has caused several critical issues within the ports at different scales, in terms of conservation of structures and infrastructures with historical and architectural value, connotation of public access spaces for tourists and visitors and quality of connection and interface zones with the urban settlement. The present contribution focuses on the protection of the built historical heritage, the safeguard of the landscape and the conservation of the cultural identity within the overall sustainable development of ports. Specifically, an assessment methodology is developed and applied on TEN ECOPORT (SEE Transnational Cooperation Programme) pilot cases on the basis of indicators and sub-indicators, as decision-making support for the definition of problems and potentialities and the proposal of strategies for requalification and refurbishment.