The World Bicycle Day (3rd of June) highlights the advantages of using bicycles: a clean, simple, and cheap transport mode that also has health benefits. In Goal 3 of the AIVP Agenda 2030, we encourage projects for sustainable mobility in port cities, such as bicycles. One example of this is the new greenway for cyclists and pedestrians in Le Havre, France. The route, extending 7 km., connects the city to the Pont de Normandie, and responds to a double need: offering a clean commute for the industrial area and completing Vélomaritime®, European cycling route, for local leisure and tourists. In Rotterdam (The Netherlands), the port authority, municipalities and companies are working together to improve port workers’ commute. The multimodal strategy includes a free e-bike pool scheme trial. Companies can apply to receive three e-bikes for three months and promotional material to encourage employees to cycle to work.

Environmental externalities are one of the main concerns in port cities. On the World Environmental Day (and Ocean Week), many AIVP members have shown their commitment to reduce them and protect the local ecosystem. We can find examples in several Canadian cases. In Montreal, the Port Authority announced that is renewing its partnership with the St. Lawrence action fund (Marine Biodiversity Program) to contribute to the sustainability of the ecosystem. In Quebec city, the port authority is joining the cleaning campaign of the Beauport Bay. At the same time, the Port of Vancouver is starting the 5th year of the ECHO program to protect cetaceans, while also recognizing efforts to reduce emissions of 19 port companies with the Blue Circle Awards. In other countries, like Spain, many ports have focused on awareness actions and webinars, such as the cases of Barcelona, Valencia or Málaga. Finally, in cases like Oslo (Norway) the focus was on new technology such as the autonomous drone that will help to keep fjord of Oslo clean.

More and more port cities are convinced that Port Centers are the best tools to foster a sustainable dialogue between the port, the city, and the citizens. Recent examples can be found in Italy, where the port of Taranto just launched “Open Port – Exhibition center del Porto di Taranto”, and the PNA of the North Tyrrhenian Sea has plans for Piombino and Porto Ferraio. This week, the port of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) presented the ambitious Port Experience Centre (HEC) that will replace FutureLand, in the Maasvlakte 2. Besides explaining the social, economic, and environmental relevance of port activities, the HEC will also explain energy transition and digitisation in an understandable way. The new facility will be designed by famous architects MVRDV and will be part of the broader strategy ‘Experience the port’ that also includes the future Port Pavilion, in the city centre.

The global pandemic has demonstrated once again the important role of ports in our society. The UNCTAD TrainForTrade Programme is launching a new, free of charge, online course to support and prepare port actors to respond to crisis moments such as pandemics. The course will train participants to prepare crisis protocols and communication strategies, assess the impact of pandemics on cargo flow and the threat to the health of the staff, as well as to identify risks and define mitigation strategies. The Building Port Resilience Against Pandemics (BPR) course will take place between June 28th and July 30th.

All interested participants should register themselves at https://tft-reg.unctad.org/ using the passcode BPR2021.

“A river and maritime complex that continues to respect the environment and shared uses”: that is the stated ambition of Stéphane Raison, Chief Executive of the new Haropa Port complex. On 1 June, the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris (including the Gennevilliers river platform) merged to create France’s biggest international commercial port. One of the new port’s main advantages will be multimodality. Traffic will be focused on the river, with the help of towns and cities along the Seine, whose mayors made a commitment on 31 May to give priority to public procurement goods shipped via the river.

The former transatlantic cruise terminal in Cherbourg has already been redeveloped as the Cité de la Mer maritime museum. But the district between the terminal and the city centre is still home to abandoned warehouses and buildings. The City is keen to turn it into a leading mixed-use precinct. There are plans to develop housing, tertiary facilities, cultural venues, public spaces and promenades. The project will also showcase the local maritime heritage, and in particular the transatlantic cruise terminal itself. The project includes measures to address the risk of coastal flooding. Setec Organisation is currently working on the preliminary planning study. A users committee has also been set up.

The area is set to be turned into a dense and dynamic new district. A 4 km stretch of land along the Yangtze River has already been transformed into an urban park. This initial phase of the project saw measures to restore local biodiversity by re-creating microhabitats. Recreational and leisure facilities have been created, along with a network of urban parks. To the east of the site, the vestiges of an old shipyard (slipways, cranes, buildings) have been re-used to preserve the site’s identity.