Towards a Resilient Port-Cityscape
Identifying Waterfront Transformation Potential in Industrial Inland Port Cities in Transition in the Hinterland of Port of Rotterdam
Y. Hao (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
C. Forgaci – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
D. Cannatella – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
Over the past three decades, the regionalization of the Port of Rotterdam has decentralized functional logistics upstream, driving significant industrial waterfront expansion across inland industrial port cities (IIPCs) in the Netherlands. Concurrently, these host municipalities have experienced pronounced residential growth, precipitating acute spatial conflicts along the port-city waterfront interface. In the contemporary post-expansion era, this spatial friction necessitates an urgent re-evaluation of waterfront adaptive reuse. This thesis investigates how waterfront zones within IIPCs can be spatially optimized to cultivate a resilient port-cityscape, balancing multi-dimensional urban performance with structural adaptability toward future transitions.
Conceptually rooted in port-city interface literature and urban resilience theory, this study deploys quantitative urban morphology as its primary analytical approach, translating spatial and functional characteristics into measurable parametric indices. Executed through a multi-scalar context–assessment–design framework, port-cities are studied both as nodes on the inland waterway network at the macro-scale, and further divided into spatial units at the meso- and micro-scale, where urban waterfronts are delineated into river corridor segments. At the macro- and meso-scale, transformation potential is identified based on the development model adapted from Anyport model by Bird (1963). At the micro-scale, a typology of distinct morphological identities is established, and the types exhibiting high transformative potential are then subjected to a diagnostic urban performance framework to uncover latent structural imbalances and generate data-informed spatial strategies. Finally, these strategies are translated and demonstrated through site-specific urban design interventions.
By bridging the gap between spatial data analytics and urban design, this research establishes a structured, reproducible methodological framework. Ultimately, it contributes actionable design strategies for cultivating coherent, adaptive, and resilient port-cityscapes in post-expansion inland port territories.
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