Living with Water: Exploring the Role of Small Ports of the Dutch Delta

Alankrita Sarkar, TU Delft, Deltametropolis Association
Mila Avellar Montezuma, TU Delft, UNESCO-IHE Delft, WaterStudio
John Hanna, TU Delft
Paolo De Martino, TU Delft
Sacha Oberski, TU Delft

The Dutch Delta, known for its innovative water management and maritime infrastructure, faces increasing challenges due to climate change, urbanization, and shifting economic demands (Meyer, 2012). Attention often centers on large port cities like Rotterdam, where the delta region grapples with critical water-related issues like floods and droughts, along with energy and urban development shifts. Addressing these complexities requires a comprehensive and inclusive approach that also values the insights and innovations of smaller port communities for building a resilient and sustainable future. Yet, the important role of smaller ports is often overlooked (United Nations, 2017). These smaller ports play a vital role in the region's resilience, contributing to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The “Living with Water'” project aims to redefine small port cities in the Dutch Delta and compile narratives from them and disseminate them with a catalogue. This project is planned by Delft University of Technology, in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, WaterStudio, and Deltametropolis Association.

Figure 1: Map of smallmall ports in the Dutch Delta, developed by Living with Waters’ team.
Figure 1: Map of smallmall ports in the Dutch Delta, developed by Living with Waters’ team.

This project seeks to provide a clearer understanding of what defines a small port, its position within the global port network, and its relationship to  the broader port-city ecosystem (Figure 1). We aim to gather narratives and examples of resilience — often referred as best practices—from key actors and stakeholders. These narratives would help us assess how small ports navigate current local and global trends, including challenges and opportunities related to climate, economy, and urbanization. The collected insights will then inform the development of future scenarios, which will be used as a tool to explore possible trajectories for small ports, examining the challenges and opportunities these futures may bring. The project will culminate in a conference that brings together experts to share insights and reflections on the future of small ports. The project is structured into 5 phases: (1) Understanding and Redefining Small Ports; (2) Collecting Narratives of the Port-City Ecosystems; (3) Designing Future Scenarios for Small Ports; (4) Creating a Catalogue to share and disseminate design findings; (5) Organizing a Final Conference to discuss future implications.

Figure 2. NXR-2024 site visit and dialogue with local and international stakeholders of the Port of Scheveningen— including municipal specialists, Cultural Heritage Agencies, academics, local inhabitants, and port-related workers—whose insights serve as a valuable backbone for the project’s learning and outcomes. Source: Mila Avellar Montezuma and Marlies Augustijn, 2024.
Figure 2. NXR-2024 site visit and dialogue with local and international stakeholders of the Port of Scheveningen— including municipal specialists, Cultural Heritage Agencies, academics, local inhabitants, and port-related workers—whose insights serve as a valuable backbone for the project’s learning and outcomes. Source: Mila Avellar Montezuma and Marlies Augustijn, 2024.

Phase 1: Understanding and Redefining Small Ports focuses on defining and positioning small ports, considering their roles from both the perspectives of the port and the city through key actors and broader societal analysis. This phase also examines the roles of small ports in the larger Dutch port network and their contributions to local-regional development. Why do small ports matter? One of the core objectives of this project is to redefine what constitutes a "small port" within the context of the Dutch Delta and the global maritime network. Traditionally, ports are categorized by their size, economic output, and strategic importance, with large hubs like Rotterdam often dominating the narrative (Notteboom et al., 2022). Yet, smaller ports hold unique advantages, such as their capacity to foster local economic development, preserve cultural heritage, and offer greater flexibility for innovation. Small ports are not merely miniaturized versions of large ports but play distinct roles in supporting regional economies and connecting communities with maritime culture. To achieve this understanding, this project begins by gathering data through semi-structured interviews with key actors—port authorities, policymakers, business owners, local communities, and urban planners (Figure 2). These conversations aim to define the unique characteristics of small ports, their socio-economic contributions, and their spatial interactions with surrounding cities.

Figure 3: Benjamin in POLDERMAS, Site visit with students from TU Delft to Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe, March 2024. Building Green, 2024. Figure 4: Scenario workshop by Deltametropolis Association in Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe, March 2024. Building Green, 2024.
Figure 3: Benjamin in POLDERMAS, Site visit with students from TU Delft to Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe, March 2024. Building Green, 2024.
Figure 4: Scenario workshop by Deltametropolis Association in Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe, March 2024. Building Green, 2024.

Phase 2: Collecting Narratives of the Port-City Ecosystem explores the port cities by understanding and reflecting on the interaction between port and city development. Reflecting on these relationships requires more than quantitative data; it necessitates capturing the lived experiences of those who engage with these spaces. This project incorporates a multi-layered narrative-based approach to capture diverse perspectives on how ports shape, and are shaped by, the cities around them. These narratives will include micro-stories and anecdotes from individuals who often remain unheard in traditional decision-making processes—such as local residents, workers, and community members—alongside insights from actors at higher levels of the power hierarchy, such as port operators, urban planners, and business leaders. Stories will be gathered through interviews, workshops, and roundtable discussions, creating opportunities for open dialogue among stakeholders across varying levels of influence (Figures 3, 4, 5). By juxtaposing these perspectives, we aim to understand the complex and multifaceted relationships within port-city ecosystems. The aim is to capture the complexity of port-city interactions, particularly in relation to the economic, social, and environmental challenges that arise from urbanization and port expansion. The narratives will also serve as a tool to map spatial questions, exploring how the physical layout of ports influences the surrounding urban fabric.

Figure 5: Technical visit and field assessment of the Port of Scheveningen, March 2024. Source: Building Green, 2024.
Figure 5: Technical visit and field assessment of the Port of Scheveningen, March 2024. Source: Building Green, 2024.

Building on these narratives, we take the next steps in Phase 3: Designing Future Scenarios for Small Ports. Looking beyond current conditions, the Living with Water project seeks to imagine and start a discussion around the future of small ports in the Dutch Delta (Figures 6-8). Climate change, economic shifts, and technological advancements are poised to reshape the port-city landscape in the coming decades. To explore these possibilities, the project will employ scenario-planning techniques to develop visions for the future of small ports (Figure 9). We imagine engaging with the stakeholders involved in the port-city development through collaborative design workshops to envision potential futures for small ports. We also aim to collaborate with students, young designers, and planners to design future scenarios. Here, we explore how small ports can adapt to changes such as rising sea levels, shifts in global trade patterns, and the growing need for sustainable infrastructure (Van de Ven et al., 2024).

Figure 6–8: NXR-2024 multi-level discussions in the Port of Scheveningen. Source: Mila Avellar Montezuma and Fangfei Liu, 2024.
Figure 6–8: NXR-2024 multi-level discussions in the Port of Scheveningen. Source: Mila Avellar Montezuma and Fangfei Liu, 2024.

These three initial phases of explorations will be compiled in Phase 4: Creating a Catalogue to share and disseminate design findings. As the project progresses, all collected data, narratives, and insights will be compiled into a comprehensive “Catalogue of Best Practices”, which will guide future research in this thematic orientation for future research purposes. The Catalogue will document key findings, including definitions of small ports, stakeholder stories, and the future scenarios developed during the workshops. Keeping in mind this short-term project, the primary goal of this Catalogue is to document, advance the conversation: challenge, contest, push, trigger, provoke all the processes for a better understanding of small port-cities.

Figure 9: Visions of protection and adaptation for the Port of Scheveningen, Den Haag, and its coastline in response to sea level rise. Source: NXR-2024.
Figure 9: Visions of protection and adaptation for the Port of Scheveningen, Den Haag, and its coastline in response to sea level rise. Source: NXR-2024.

Finally, the project will culminate in Phase 5: Final Conference and Future Implications, which will bring together experts from academia, industry, and government to discuss the role of small ports in the future of maritime culture, urbanisation, and sustainability. This event will serve as a platform for sharing the project's findings, facilitating discussions on the next steps for small port research and development, and encouraging the formation of new collaborations. The goal is to explore actionable steps to empower small ports and form collaborative frameworks.

Small ports offer unique opportunities for innovation and experimentation that are often unavailable to larger, more entrenched port systems. By studying the dynamics of small port cities, this project aims to provide new insights into how port systems, local communities, and regional economies can adapt to future challenges. Ultimately, the Living with Water project seeks to empower small ports and amplify their unheard voices, positioning them as key players in the development of resilient and sustainable urban environments.

 

Project Researchers

Acknowledgments

This blog post has been written in the context of discussions in the LDE PortCityFutures research community. It reflects the evolving thoughts of the authors and expresses the discussions between researchers on the socio-economic, spatial and cultural questions surrounding port city relationships. This blog was edited by the PortCityFutures editorial team: Yi Kwan Chan. 

 

References

Avellar Montezuma M., Hein C, Corten JP, Begon B, Augustijn M. Recife Exchanges Netherlands (2024). Report: International Workshop Report Design 4 Extremes: Heritage Strategies for Rising Sea Levels Adaptation in The Hague. Download at: https://recifeexchanges.com/netherlands/

Meyer, H. (2012). Urban design in a dynamic delta. Urban Design and Planning, 165(2), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1680/udap.11.00025

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2017). Port industry survey on climate change impacts and adaptation (Research Paper No. 18). https://unctad.org

Notteboom, T., Pallis, A., & Rodrigue, J.-P. (2022). Port economics, management and policy (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429318184

Van de Ven, F. H. M., Zevenbergen, C., Avellar Montezuma, M., Ding, Z., Veerbeek, W., & Chen, S. (2024). The three-points sponge policy approach: Toward an enhanced multi-level resilience strategy. Frontiers in Water, 6, 1361058. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1361058