Maritime Flows

http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/AppliedResearch/TIGER/DFR/TIGER_DFR_wp15_maritimeflows.pdfThe main objective of the report is to underline the position of Europe and its hub/gateway ports in worldwide air and maritime flows. Three levels of analysis are considered: global, regional, and local, as well as relations between those scales. The global level focuses on the weight and position of Europe in global port traffic and maritime connections over time, notably looking at their changing geographic distribution and identifying which dominant port gateways have ensured Europe's maritime relations with the rest of the world. On a world level, the position of Europe will be analysed on various degrees of aggregation: as one single entity, as groups of port gateways (maritime ranges), and as individual cities (multiple or single terminals). The regional level looks at how such traffic and connections are distributed within the European territory, taking into account the previous level (world) while proposing a multi-scalar view on port gateways. We also wish understanding the mutual influence between global level and regional level since port gateways are embedded within local, regional, national, and trans-national economies and spatial systems. The local level will focus on one gateway-corridor through a case study highlighting concrete issues of regional planning and socio-economic development in relation with port and transport activities