A role to play in societal transformation

To me, ports are not simply vital cogs in the supply chain of moving foodstuffs, white goods and consignments of essential sportswear from Shanghai to Rotterdam, but are connectors to exotic destinations and gateways for the exchange of new ideas and cultural shift.

Their location – at the crossroads of cityscapes and places to live – adds a dynamism to the standard urban imagery of buildings through the silhouettes of giant crane beams and equipment buzzing around frantic yards.

Ports can be the hidden heartbeat of a city, interconnected by a nervous system embracing all modes of transportation, influencing the layout and shape of the urban mass, often deep into the regional hinterland.

Yet the heat never abates from the pressure cooker of the port. The economic forces in trade seek to squeeze rates, communities oppose the growth necessary to physically evolve while authorities play the blame game for ships’ nitrogen-rich pollution pervading local streets. This is against a backdrop of the need to digitise, automate, decarbonise and scrutinise the cargo supply chain.

In June, Canada will host AIVP’s World Port-City Conference. A gathering of the great and the good from ports and iconic cities will discuss fascinating themes ranging from building resilience to climate risk to healthier harmonious environments in an agenda that will shape the next generation.

The workforce, never shy of an opinion, are an inherent part of that lasting legacy and central to an evolution in port-city planning. Port-cities need to capture the aspirations for tapping into future markets, the emergence of new-skilled jobs and the rise of the blue economy.

Collaboration and learning lessons from city and marine planners is difficult but is a key avenue to revitalising wider support and appreciation of the role of ports. We need innovative programmes and partnerships to ensure ports are at the heart of growth rather than an add-on.

Future-ready port growth can be the stimulant to sustainable socio-economic value that most societies crave. Unless we break down the barriers of silo thinking, and that includes shipping lines, our urban hubs will be unable to properly reap the benefits and advantages a bustling, clean, dynamic and modern port can bring.

Despite the relocation of some ports inland, most of the big tonnage box handling and general cargo facilities remain in cities.

Our ports – the flagbearers of globalisation and source of local maritime heritage – need to accelerate their response to political uncertainty, step out of the shadows and play an increasingly proactive civic role in the transformation of societies. Port managers might say that this is not their job, but you won’t hear much of that type of rhetoric in Quebec City next month.

Charles Haine is technical director of maritime at WSP.