No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Introduction: the port and its reconceptualizationsThe trajectory of the theoretical discourse on the modern seaport has not been a linear one. Technological breakthroughs in cargo handling and concomitant advances in naval engineering which gave rise to containerization and bulk shipping engendered a number of scholarly deliberations as to how the port could be conceptualized. The seminal works by Bird (1963) and Taaffe et al (1963) spawned a large body of research into understanding the port in relation to spatial change (Hayuth, 1987;Hilling and Hoyle, 1984;Rimmer, 1967). A second wave of reconceptualization emerged when transport geographers began to hypothesize about how this historically self-standing pivotal space was being assimilated within broader corporate agendas. The port had become a mere`pawn in the game' of global corporate interests and intermodal networks (Slack, 1993). Port reforms worldwide brought to the fore questions about portsöfor whom and by whom? Governance then became a trendy lens by which to approach the port not as a space, but as a community. The most recent theoretical departure has been expressed by Robinson (2002), who argues for nothing less than a paradigm shift in port studies. A new paradigm would seek to ground the port within themes of logistics and value-adding chains. Robinson's (2002, page 245) rationale is a strong one, which deserves further attention: