The port of Lisbon recently presented the project Tejo Live, consisting of a new webcam with a continuous feed, showing the Tagus river 24/7. It will bring people virtually closer to the port and the river. The camera is positioned in the VTS control tower and offers a global view between the 25 de Abril Bridge and the approach area to the Port of Lisbon. A privileged perspective of the Tagus River. The port authority intends to extend Tejo Live to the entire area of the Tagus Estuary under its jurisdiction, through the installation of more webcams. Another method to bring people closer to the port is by organizing events, as it has happened in Setúbal, where the port authority supported the 5th Sado Regatta, cooperating with the municipality to strengthen the port-city connection.

The Sydney Harbour Foreshore Trust has unveiled plans to regenerate the 18 hectare Cockatoo Island, a world heritage site in the middle of the bay. The project is based on a study commissioned by the Federal Environment Ministry in 2020, and on the results of a public consultation. Eight sectors would be created, including one dedicated to art and culture. The project also aims to showcase the historic importance of Cockatoo Island for the peoples of the First Nations, and for the industrial and maritime history of Sydney and Australia in general.

The city of Helsinki has just launched an architectural competition for the Makasiiniranta site in the South Harbour district. Located close to the pedestrianised downtown, the area is highly important for the city and is the last remaining zone occupied by the former port. It is set to be redeveloped for cultural and leisure uses. The cruise and ferry activities will remain on site, implying that measures will need to be taken to integrate them into the newly redeveloped zone. The site will also host the planned museum of architecture and design. Proposals must take account of the various heritage buildings present. Submissions received by December 2021 will be put to the local population. Deadline for entries: 21 June

Public art has offered a new image of port areas in many port cities, as we have seen before in Hamburg and Linz. This time, the port of La Reunion, in partnership with the City Council of Le Port, invited world-renowned graphic artists, JACE and GORG’ONE to paint the 500 sqm. fresco “Ocean Workshops” on the façade of warehouse 90. The new mural comes to enrich the “Ville musée” collection of Le Port, a project of street art organized by the association “Village Titan”. Street art also brings younger people to the port, as it was visible in Bordeaux. There, an initiative from the Seamen’s club EEG with PRADO foundation and the municipality of Bassens invited teenagers to paint one container in the port area, coached by professional graffiti artists. The initiative allowed young people to discover the port, its facilities, its trades, the men and women who animate and make it alive.

(Photo: ville du Port)

As its citizens prepare to mark the 30th anniversary of its self-proclaimed independence, Somaliland is looking to open up to the world with its new port platform. The growth of the port city of Berbera has put it firmly on the international map, alongside Djibouti, Eritrea, and particularly Ethiopia. A new port terminal to be operated by DP World is under construction, with major involvement by the Somaliland and Ethiopian governments. Meanwhile, plans to redevelop the Berbera waterfront, with 7.5 million euros of EU funding, will improve quality of life for residents, and help make the city a more attractive tourist destination. As it acquires modern infrastructures and public spaces, Berbera could well become the country’s economic engine, by intelligently capitalising on its “city-port” dynamics.