PCF Talk #66 – Agenda Monthly Meeting – Hybrid
This is a hybrid event, please join in person, or via the zoom link below!
Spatial Design and Cultural Practices - Embedding Social and Ecological Values in Waterfront Cities
Cases of Hamburg, Marseille, Malmö and the Flemish-Dutch Delta
09:00 - 09:15
Opening
Welcome and introduction of the theme
09:15 - 09:30
- Introduction of the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails project
- Presentation of TU Delft’s Impact Assessment of the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails project (see Bauhaus of the Seas Sails | PortCityFutures)
Moderated by Maëlle Salzinger.
Maëlle Salzinger is a researcher and policy analyst from France, based at Delft University of Technology, in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning. She develops methodologies and practical tools to support just sustainability transitions and climate adaptation, with a focus on long-term impact. She led the impact analysis of the Horizon Europe project Bauhaus of the Seas Sails (2022–2025) as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative. Currently, she co-leads a working group in the European COST Action PACT (Port City Territories in Action: A collaborative Laboratory for Inclusive Energy Transition) and is associated with PortCityFutures, the Blue Papers journal, and One Planet Port. She has a track record of 20+ publications and holds a master’s degree (Cum Laude) from Sciences Po Paris, France.
Hamburg and Marseille’s Green and Blue Spaces: Urban planning in service of a Post-World War II Identity Narration (1945-1973)
09:30 - 09:50
Public urban green spaces are a key element of the “livable” city. They serve as social and recreational spaces, are free of charge, and generally met with positive sentiments. Yet, public urban green spaces are far from banal or neutral. They are products of policies and societal ideals that reach back to the post-World War II era.
In her talk, Eliane Schmid will focus on the topic of public urban green space creation as a tool for identity narration in the port cities of Hamburg and Marseille. Joined by a city partnership, or Jumelage, from 1958 onwards, Hamburg and Marseille’s municipal governments stood in close collaboration concerning urban development projects, including park construction. Carefully planned green spaces were developed to serve as an antidote to the negative port city stereotypes of being polluted and dangerous. As their respective countries’ second cities and largest ports, the municipal governments of Hamburg and Marseille supported one another in trying to prove that port cities were valuable beyond their importance for the national economy. What this looked like exactly, who was involved and who was left out, will be discussed in this presentation.
Eliane Schmid studied history, philosophy of knowledge, and English literature at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. Currently she is a PhD candidate at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), researching the development of public urban green spaces in the port cities of Hamburg and Marseille post-World War II.
In her project, which she will defend in Autumn of this year, Eliane analyzes how planning ideas and ideals shaped identity narration and creation in the two port cities. She applies theory from spatial and planning history, while using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to help analyze the socio-spatial and temporal dimensions.
Towards regenerative ocean cultures in Malmö
09:50 - 10:10
Michael Palmgren (Marine Education Center, Malmö) and Anders Emilson (Malmö University) will present the work of the Malmö pilot team in the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails project. The team has developed and tested two prototype solutions, i.e. “drops”: Ocean Literacy and Nature-based Reefs. In the Ocean Literacy drop, they worked mainly with Ocean ambassadors who have developed creative and arts-based activities to create new relationships between citizens and the sea. In the Nature-based Reefs drop, they collaborated with a Sea forum to develop installations in and around the regenerated South Wharf Basin (in a former harbour area) to create awareness about the ecosystem below the water surface. They will end by sharing ideas about future work.
Michael Palmgren is the director and founder of Marine Education Center in Malmö. He has been working with Ocean Literacy and the ocean for over 30 years.
Anders Emilson is senior lecturer at the School of Arts and Communication, Malmö university. His focus is on design for sustainability
Delta Stories - Water Shapes Us
10:10 - 10:30
This presentation examines the evolving relationship between landscape, water, and society in the Saeftinghe area and the wider delta through the European project Bauhaus of the Seas Sails. Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe is a transboundary landscape within the Flemish–Dutch Delta, formed by the interacting river systems of the Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt. The focus lies on a sequence of co-design activities conducted between 2023 and 2025 that involved residents, practitioners, researchers, young designers and planners, and public actors. These engagements enabled shared reflection on historical spatial transformations, present challenges, and future scenarios of living with water.
Through storytelling, spatial dialogue, and research-by-design, the process revealed how lived experience, cultural memory, and governance structures shape understandings of the delta across temporal and spatial scales. The presentation introduces the conceptual framing that guided the co-design trajectories, with emphasis on experiential knowledge and cross-border value perspectives. Attention is given to the development of participatory methods and to insights emerging from collective reflection on climate transition, landscape change, and regional identity. Selected stories and design explorations demonstrate how local narratives can inform broader spatial imaginaries for adaptive delta futures. The presentation concludes with the final exhibition as a synthesis of voices, images, and spatial propositions generated through the process, and reflects on future research pathways, including links to ongoing doctoral work on value-based spatial planning in the Flemish–Dutch Delta.
Alankrita Sarkar is a Strategic spatial planner working at the intersection of climate transitions and cross-border governance. Research Coordinator at Vereniging Deltametropool while conducting PhD research at TU Delft on long-term, value-driven planning approaches under conditions of climate change in the Flemish-Dutch Delta. Engaged in building knowledge networks, research-by-design practices, and collaborative platforms connecting metropolitan landscapes, governance systems, and society.
David de Boer is a Landscape designer and urbanist at Vereniging Deltametropool with a special interest in ecological design, regional (metropolitan) design and designing the public realm. Co-founder of Young NVTL, Dutch young professionals organisation for landscape architecture and ELASA representative of the Netherlands.
Break
10:30 - 10:55
Q&A and Roundtable Discussion
10:55 - 11:50
- Questions from the audience
- What are interesting similarities and differences between the experiences of Hamburg, Marseille, Malmö and the Dutch-Flemish Delta?
- How do these cases help us rethink ports’ spatial and cultural presence in cities and delta regions?
- How can new or regenerated spaces become places of societal transformation? How can cultural interventions influence these places in the long-term?
- How can we best evaluate and share knowledge about the impact of spatial, design and cultural practices for social and ecological change?
- How can we continue collaborating in the future?
PCF lighthouse projects and new opportunities
11:50 - 12:00