A tale of Asia’s world ports: The spatial evolution in global hub port cities

Globalization and transport revolutions, logistics integration, and the consequent expansion of port area and hinterland in the maritime industry have redefined the functional role of ports in supply chains and have generated a new pattern of freight distribution. This phenomenon again requires a new approach towards port development and related urban planning. Such changes have inevitably influenced the spatial structure of hub port cities. As existing models on spatial and functional evolution of ports and cities are mainly derived from European and American cases, this paper attempts to introduce evidence from an Asian perspective, focusing on the particular case of global hub port cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore.     

New ports as nodes for industrial and urban development: The cases of Richards Bay and Saldanha in South Africa

Richards Bay and Saldanha were officially opened in 1976 as new deep water ports, primarily for the export of coal and iron ore respectively. The heavy investment in both infrastructure and industrial development by the South African government led to considerable urban and industrial growth in Richards Bay, whereas the port of Saldanha was initiated by one big concern and failed to produce a far reaching multiplier effect. The development of ports as growth centres has to be considered in terms of the location relative to the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging complex, which dominates the economy of the subcontinent, and within the context of the official decentralisation-growth point policy.     

The impact of the Habitats Directive on European port operations and management

Thirteen years since the EU Habitats Directive (1992/43/EEC) became a binding legal agreement, this paper considers the implementation of this important European environmental legislation as it applies to the coastal activities of seaports and harbours. The paper examines the relationship between environmental legislation and ports policy, and seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment of the policy and science that has been developed in relation to protected areas and port management. The paper reports the results of a survey of European port professionals, and their perception of the successes and challenges of the management regimes that have been established, as well as their opinions on how these have influenced the management within ports. The paper also provides a detailed examination of the scientific and technical developments with particular regard to dredging and habitat management in European ports. Key research gaps are identified, including: practical approaches to licensing procedures; lack of baseline information, especially with regard to in-combination effects; the efficacy of techniques for mitigating the impacts of dredging; and greater understanding on how more resilient models for collaborative action can be developed. The paper will be of use to environmental planners, scientists, regulators, conservationists, and port managers, as they consider how to apply science and management to the sustainable development and environmental protection of coastal areas.     

闽江福州河段环境工程地质问题的评价研究

江河环境工程地质问题是环境工程地质学研究的重要课题。江河沿岸环境地质条件是影响和决定沿江城市环境质量的重要背景 ;是控制和影响沿江河岸城市的环境容量和质量的重要因素。本文以闽江下游福州河段为例 ,概要评述了闽江福州河段的水动力条件和流水地质作用类型、强度等状况 ;分析研究了该河段的流水地质作用和地貌环境变化动态及其与沿江河岸人类各种工程建设活动的互相作用的特征和规律。对促进和提高沿江河岸人地系统和谐协调平衡发展水平 ,正确规划、预测和评价沿江河岸各类工程建设发展的经济和社会效益及其前景 ,都具有重要意义.     

环境变化对长江三角洲地区“北方海上丝绸之路”始发港变迁的影响*

“北方海上丝绸之路”作为中国古代与东亚各国进行贸易往来的重要海上通道,促进了宋元时期海上丝绸之路的大发展并成就了明朝大航海的辉煌,研究其始发港的变迁与原因对“海上丝绸之路研究体系”的完善和“21世纪海上丝绸之路”的建设具有重要意义,但目前鲜有研究。基于古代典籍、地方志和历史地图的记载,结合前人对历史时期中国环境变化的认识,对隋唐至明清时期长江三角洲地区“北方海上丝绸之路”主要始发港的变迁与原因进行研究。结果表明: (1)隋唐—明清时期中国长江三角洲地区先后兴起了3个“北方海上丝绸之路”主要始发港,扬州港盛于隋唐,上海港盛于唐宋,明州港(今宁波港)盛于宋元; (2)气候变冷引起的北方少数民族南犯,中原地区经济和政治中心南迁,北方海上丝绸之路的始发港由登州(今蓬莱)迁到了长江三角洲地区; (3)随泥沙堆积,雁形式沙洲发育,河口分汊东伸南移,长江河口海岸由喇叭形的河口湾演化为三角洲,这是引起始发港由扬州港向东迁往上海港、乃至明州港的根本原因; (4)长江河口沙洲的发育,引起了长江扬州港段和上海港段水系的变化,使得2个港作为始发港时,港口的具体位置不断地随河势变化而调整; (5)对外贸易政策的变化亦对始发港的兴衰与变迁起到一定的促进或阻碍作用。     

Globalisation, information technology and the emergence of niche transnational cities: the growth of the call centre sector in Dublin

The development of information and communications technologies (ICT) has facilitated the emergence of a complex global urban system in which many formerly lower-order cities have been carving out “niche” specialist functions serving urban fields of transnational dimension. This is illustrated in the case of Dublin, which in recent years has been transcending its traditional role as Ireland’s national metropolis through the development of a range of functions servicing mainly European markets. One such function comprises pan-European telephone call centre operations. The development and characteristics of this newly-emerging sector are described. It is argued that the growth of the sector confirms Dublin’s — and Ireland’s — dependent position in the international division of labour, and that its long-term sustainability is open to question.     

环境变化对长江三角洲地区“北方海上丝绸之路”始发港变迁的影响*

“北方海上丝绸之路”作为中国古代与东亚各国进行贸易往来的重要海上通道,促进了宋元时期海上丝绸之路的大发展并成就了明朝大航海的辉煌,研究其始发港的变迁与原因对“海上丝绸之路研究体系”的完善和“21世纪海上丝绸之路”的建设具有重要意义,但目前鲜有研究。基于古代典籍、地方志和历史地图的记载,结合前人对历史时期中国环境变化的认识,对隋唐至明清时期长江三角洲地区“北方海上丝绸之路”主要始发港的变迁与原因进行研究。结果表明: (1)隋唐—明清时期中国长江三角洲地区先后兴起了3个“北方海上丝绸之路”主要始发港,扬州港盛于隋唐,上海港盛于唐宋,明州港(今宁波港)盛于宋元; (2)气候变冷引起的北方少数民族南犯,中原地区经济和政治中心南迁,北方海上丝绸之路的始发港由登州(今蓬莱)迁到了长江三角洲地区; (3)随泥沙堆积,雁形式沙洲发育,河口分汊东伸南移,长江河口海岸由喇叭形的河口湾演化为三角洲,这是引起始发港由扬州港向东迁往上海港、乃至明州港的根本原因; (4)长江河口沙洲的发育,引起了长江扬州港段和上海港段水系的变化,使得2个港作为始发港时,港口的具体位置不断地随河势变化而调整; (5)对外贸易政策的变化亦对始发港的兴衰与变迁起到一定的促进或阻碍作用。     

Some consequences and impacts of port development — the Hong Kong case)

Over the past century, Hong Kong port has experienced a fascinating development process as it has become one of the world's number one container ports. This paper explores some of the major external impacts and consequences of Hong Kong's past and current port development experience, with particular reference to environmental planning and control. After a brief introduction to Hong Kong's port, the paper focuses on the planning and management lessons related to the port's development. The paper then concludes with its impact on and reference for mainland China's port and port-city development.     

Peripherality in the global container shipping network: the case of the Southern African container port system

Regional trade co-operation, economic growth and greater political stability have enabled increased container throughput and container port capacity development. Earlier academic work has indicated that the functional position of this port region in the global maritime network might be shifting from a remote region in the periphery of the network to a more intermediate position. This paper aims to analyze the changing level of peripherality and remoteness of the Southern African container port system as part of the global container shipping network. The central hypothesis is that Southern Africa has moved from a remote shipping region to a more central shipping region in the global network. The methodology consists of the calculation of network measures for Southern African ports. The changing geographical distribution of flows among the main container ports in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Mauritius and Madagascar will also be explored in terms of their respective shipping services, port calling patterns, market structure (in terms of the number of active carriers) and the up-scaling of vessel and port capacity. The overall result is a mapped port hierarchical structure with a clear indication of the shifted maritime centrality of Southern African ports from 1996 to the present decade.     

Maritime impacts on the littoral organization — The case of the Western Mediterranean

Littoral life in the W Mediterranean is undergoing relevant changes. There are about 40 seaports in thh are, making up a sort of Southern Range (from Algesiras to Leghorn), and besides that a South-Western Area (Italian Mezzogiorno), and a Developing Area (African coast). A new spatial model of oil transport — the third one sinnce the Sixties — is emerging, having a high degree of freedom. Growing consumption of steam coal brings about the construction of deep-sea terminals generating feeder effects within the Mediterranean. In unitized transport the Mediterranean has weaker relations with Europe than with non-European areas, and brings about the construction of platforms for the distribution of containers. NW industrial areas are being transformed and concentrations of new tertiary activities are emerging, relations between littoral cities and inland cities are changing, medium ports are coming to the fore. Relations between W and E Mediterranean shores are changing.     

From St. John's to Miami: Containerisation at Eastern Seaboard Ports

The North American Eastern Seaboard is one of the major container handling regions of the world. However, since 1975 it has declined relative to the world development of containerisation. Whereas in 1975, 20.4% of the world's containers passed through Eastern Seaboard ports, in 1995 the figure was 7.2%. In the period 1975 to 1995, ports in Canada and the Mid Atlantic range have held their own relatively in the proportion of containers handled in the Eastern Seaboard. Ports in the North East, primarily New York, have lost ground; ports in the South have gained. Rank size analysis and the Gini coefficient show a deconcentration of container handling away from New York to middle ranked ports, especially Hampton Roads, Charleston, SC and Montreal. Global factors – universal adoption of containerisation, changing trade routes brought about by post-Panamax ships and intermodality, and cargo sharing among alliances – explain the relative decline of the Eastern Seaboard ports as a group. Individual port development is largely accounted for by how well ports respond to the global factors. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Industrial location and urban areas

Conclusions In order to end the unstructured development of industrial building and working class housing, many countries promoted a multiplication of industrial zones and estates in the outskirts of urban centers. At the same time the difficulties faced by industries implanted in the urban network resulted in the management of many companies leaving the towns and setting up their plants on these new sites.There exists a widespread tendency to de-urbanize industry which is causing big changes in the heart of built-up areas — not always on the positive side. Consequently, a new policy is gradually being developed to aim at a better integration of industrial activities with urban areas.Undoubtedly, industrial areas should be restricted to the outskirts for heavy industry with its harmful effects of space requirement. The present migration of many industrial concerns should be halted if a true re-organization of existing urban areas is desired.In order to achieve this, town planning policies should be reviewed and certain formulas elaborated to enable a true integration of industrial functions with other functions.The location of industrial activities, therefore, seems to have reached a new turning-point in its history. Careful consideration in all urban areas, whether they be new towns or other areas, is absolutely necessary to achieve a better organization of space, which is the ultimate aim of Applied Geography.     

Possibility of implementation and environmental benefits of high-voltage power supply in developing countries,example of Croatia

One of the significant environmental aspects of transport and cargo manipulation in ports is air pollution. Coupled with other industrial sources, port traffic and operations can cause exceedances of environmental limit values and thus increase the risk of adverse biological effects including toxicity to humans. The proposed paper will describe the main characteristics of the on-shore high-voltage power supply and will discuss the extent to which the implementation of this technology is justified with respect to environmental protection, development of sustainable transport and the protection of human health. The paper suggests implementing on-shore high-voltage power supply with the aim of securing a sustainable development of world ports and minimizing their harmful effects to the environment, taking into consideration the economic aspects. After analysing the results, this technology provides a wider perspective for its future implementation into Croatian ports. The paper will assess the possible environmental effects of implementing this new technology into Croatian ports.     

Fault location and fault activity assessment by analysis of historic level line data, oil-well data and groundwater data, Hollywood area, California

Transecting the Los Angeles metropolitan area in a general E-W direction are major north-dipping reverse faults comprising the Santa Monica—Raymond Hill fault zone, a segment of the frontal fault system separating the Transverse Ranges from the Peninsular Ranges geomorphic provinces of southern California. Pleistocene or Holocene movement is evident along some segments of these faults, but urban development precludes accurate location and assessment of Quaternary movement by conventional mapping techniques. At present no conclusive evidence of Holocene surface rupture has been found onshore west of the Raymond Hill segment of the fault zone, but the geologic conditions and urban development in the area are such that the possibility of Holocene movement cannot be excluded at this time. Groundwater barriers in Pleistocene sediments are indicative of Quaternary faulting on the Santa Monica fault segment west of the Newport—Inglewood fault zone. Most literature indicates that movement along the Beverly Hills—Hollywood segment east of the Newport—Inglewood fault zone terminated in Late Miocene or Pliocene time, and there is no general agreement on the location of faults in this segment. However, recent work by the Division of Mines and Geology, by Geotechnical Consultants, Inc., and others suggests that the Santa Monica fault transecting the Hollywood area is associated with a zone of differential subsidence that varies from 100 to 400 m wide, depending on the resolution of repeated leveling survey data and with a groundwater barrier determined from analysis of oil-well and water-well data. Additional exploration is essential to test our present geologic model and to evaluate the earthquake hazard and seismic risk of faults in the area.     

Urban development and urban geography in Romania: The contribution of Vintila Mihailescu

Urban development has been a dramatic consequence of modernisation in Romania over the last hundred years. Although there are some differences between the periods of capitalism and socialism — notably the socialist emphasis on the central planning of industrial growth rather than the development of a well-rounded urban society — the population resident in towns has increased inexorably from 2.08 million in 1912 (16.3% of the total population to the country) to 3.71 million (23.4%) in 1948 and 10.49 million (47.3%) in 1980. The scope of Romanian geography has plainly altered in response to the shift in the rural-urban balance, all the more so in view of the long-standing concentration of effort on domestic issues. The paper examines the relationship between urban development and urban geography during this century: urban geography has become an integral part of the discipline whereas in 1900 interest was negligible. The transition has not been entirely smooth but considerable coherence arises from the work of Vintila Mihailescu (1890–1978) : a complete geographer but one who always emphasised the importance of urban geography. Since his death new leaders have emerged to ensure a continued commitment to what is now a fundamental element of Romanian geography.     

Transport and economic development in the less-developed countries: Some reflections on the seaports of Kenya and Tanzania

The significant role of transport in the development of less-developed countries is widely accepted, but the critical importance of seaports is often under-appreciated. Evidence from the Indian Ocean ports of Kenya and Tanzania is used in this paper to illustrate and support the argument that efficient port operation is an essential contributory factor in the development process.     

Beer-Sheva,capital of the Negev desert —Function and internal structure

The rapid growth and development in modern times of Beer-Sheva, the city of the Patriarchs, and its transformation into a major centre of growth in the southern desert part of Israel has intrigued experts who deal with urban growth and development. In this paper we examine the major factors that have contributed to the city's place and function in Israel's urban system, its economic base and ecological structure — all with reference to the city's historical background.     

Seismic hazard and site-specific ground motion for typical ports of Gujarat

Economic importance of major ports is well known, and if ports are located in seismically active regions, then site-specific seismic hazard studies are essential to mitigate the seismic risk of the ports. Seismic design of port sites and related structures can be accomplished in three steps that include assessment of regional seismicity, geotechnical hazards, and soil structure interaction analysis. In the present study, site-specific probabilistic seismic hazard analysis is performed to identify the seismic hazard associated with four typical port sites of Gujarat state (bounded by 20°–25.5°N and 68°–75°E) of India viz. Kandla, Mundra, Hazira, and Dahej ports. The primary aim of the study is to develop consistent seismic ground motion for the structures within the four port sites for different three levels of ground shaking, i.e., operating level earthquake (72 years return period), contingency level earthquake (CLE) (475 year return period), and maximum considered earthquake (2,475 year return period). The geotechnical characterization for each port site is carried out using available geotechnical data. Shear wave velocities of the soil profile are estimated from SPT blow counts using various empirical formulae. Seismicity of the Gujarat region is modeled through delineating the 40 fault sources based on the seismotectonic setting. The Gujarat state is divided into three regions, i.e., Kachchh, Saurashtra, and Mainland Gujarat, and regional recurrence relations are assigned in the form of Gutenberg-Richter parameters in order to calculate seismic hazard associated with each port site. The horizontal component of ground acceleration for three levels of ground shaking is estimated by using different ground motion attenuation relations (GMAR) including one country-specific GMAR for Peninsular India. Uncertainty in seismic hazard computations is handled by using logic tree approach to develop uniform hazard spectra for 5% damping which are consistent with the specified three levels of ground shaking. Using recorded acceleration time history of Bhuj 2001 earthquake as the input time motion, synthetic time histories are generated to match the developed designed response spectra to study site-specific responses of port sites during different levels of ground shaking. It is observed that the Mundra and Kandla port sites are most vulnerable sites for seismic hazard as estimated CLE ground motion is in order of 0.79 and 0.48 g for Mundra and Kandla port sites, respectively. Hazira and Dahej port sites have comparatively less hazard with estimated CLE ground motion of 0.17 and 0.11 g, respectively. The ground amplification factor is observed at all sites which ranges from 1.3 to 2.0 for the frequency range of 1.0–2.7 Hz. The obtained spectral accelerations for the three levels of ground motions and obtained transfer functions for each port sites are compared with provisions made in Indian seismic code IS:1893-Part 1 (2002). The outcome of present study is recommended for further performance-based design to evaluate the seismic response of the port structures with respect to various performance levels.     

Container ports,local benefits and transportation worker earnings

Over the past 50 years, containerization has both enabled and reflected the articulation of increasingly concentrated and complex global trade flows. Once close infrastructural, economic and institutional ties between seaports and port cities have been loosened, since major ports now serve producers and consumers in widely dispersed hinterlands. This process has been especially intense in North America, where west coast ports serve markets across the continent. At the same time, many of the external costs of increased port activity are incurred in port cities. Hence, questions about the changing nature of employment in port and related goods-handling sectors have become increasingly important for understanding the share of economic benefits received by port cities. This paper focuses on the effects of containerization, and related changes in transportation regulation, on port-logistics worker earnings in major United States port cities since 1975. A difference-in-differences framework is used to examine the relative annual earnings of dock, trucking and warehouse workers in major container port cities. The analysis shows that, with notable exceptions, port-logistics worker earnings in major container ports are not necessarily higher than those of comparable workers. The findings provide further insights into the strained relationship between seaports and port cities in the era of containerization and economic globalization.