This chapter applies the polycentric port region perspective on the US Gulf Region. This concept, which originates from urban studies, has recently been adapted by Van den Berghe et al. (2022) to study multiport gateway regions, with focus on the European Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) petrochemical port region. The central research question is if and to what extent the US Gulf Region is also a polycentric port region. To do this, we analyzed the three dimensions of polycentric port regions: morphological, functional, and institutional. Based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) shipping network data, geographical mapping, and institutional historical analyses, our empirical results show that the US Gulf Region can be regarded as an emergent polycentric port region. Although there are important differences with ARA, also the US Gulf port region exists of a set of different port regions where several different petrochemical functions are located and that are functionally related. In other words, to some degree, but less than ARA, specialization and complementarity is in play. In line with the ARA region, the emergence of the oil spot market is an important moment. For the US, the physical delivery point is in Cushing, Oklahoma, and not along the coast, which differs to ARA. Nevertheless, we conclude that both regions – being the first and second most important petrochemical regions in the world – are polycentric and on top of that have important relations between them. With the current shocks in the energy market, using such perspective can help us understand what is happening or will occur in these regions; not the least in reference to the hydrogen and post-fossil chemical sector.@en

This paper enacts a dialogue between planning literature on polycentric urban regions (PUR) and port geography literature on multi-port gateways. The main proposition is that polycentric systems are the emergent outcome of the interactions between three dimensions of polycentricity: morphological, functional and institutional. The focus is on the Dutch–Belgian Amsterdam–Rotterdam–Antwerp (ARA) port–industrial region: one of the world’s largest concentrations of oil refining and petrochemical activity. The central question is to what extent is the ARA region a polycentric system and what explains this observed polycentricity? Our analyses demonstrate a high degree of morphological and functional polycentricity with each of the constituent (firms located in) ports connected through flows and specialization in processing and trading oil (products). However, this is not the intended result of formalized spatial planning, nor did the ARA ever became a frame of reference among planning agencies. Rather, it is the result of self-organization in the oil industry that has culminated in the emergence of the ARA as an internationally recognized spot market, later institutionally formalized in delivery contracts (oil futures) traded on international commodity exchanges. We conclude that polycentric systems could be understood as emergent systems that obtained generative capacities, in turn influencing its different constituting dimensions.@en

Both Belgium (Flemish Diamond) and The Netherlands (Randstad) are seen as standard examples of polycentric urban regions (PUR). In the first part of this paper, we examine quantitatively if this polycentricity also applies to the ports of these urban regions. Our results show that within Belgium and the Netherlands, the port geography is monocentric, while taking the whole delta, a polycentric port geography exists. These results are the starting point to assess its functional polycentricity. For this we use the European regional IO database on the one hand, and refine this for different production chains with HQ-subsidiary data on the other hand. Our results show that the Belgian-Dutch port region is at the same time functional monocentric and functional polycentric, depending on the networks taken into consideration. The port region is thus a multiplex mono- and polycentric region. The second part connects the quantitative results with the qualitative policy structures. While every port is governed by its own semi-independent port authority, at the same time, these and other involved authorities form partly overlapping policy structures. We will give an overview of these and critically assess their relevance. Our results show that while there are seven structures, only a few can be considered successful. In our discussion, we link this with the commodity networks the particular structures are based upon. As long as an (economic) win-win situation exists or is aimed for, the cross-border policy structure within and beyond national borders prevail. If not, structures dissolve and the age old individual port authorities enter a zero-sum game. As we will show, latter can be avoided if the policy structures become institutionalized and development and policy structures are streamlined. Because both policy collaboration as individualism exists at the same time in ever changing configurations, we conclude that the Belgian-Dutch port geography is a clear example of a dynamic international conculega geography.@en

The aim of this paper is to operationalize a relational approach to the study of port-city interfaces. A relational approach allows for the analysis of how actors are connected, transact, and assign meaning and value to regional development. Much of the literature on port-city interfaces has primarily focussed on late 20th-century transformation processes at the urban waterfront. This fails to appreciate the often-continued presence of port activity within cities and falls short in understanding how the development agendas of port cities are relationally constituted. In this paper, first we argue that the port-city interface is a relational geometry through which heterogeneous flows of actors, assets, and structures are coupled. Second, we present an analytical framework capable of operationalizing such relational approach. The contemporary relational geometries in the bio-based sectors within the port cities of Amsterdam and Ghent are taken as starting points. Analysing these reveal how different coupling mechanisms result in particular development trajectories of the port city, setting the scene for future coupling mechanisms. This paper concludes with a discussion on the value of a relational approach to the study of port-city interfaces.@en