Sevim Sezi Karayazi
Department of Architecture, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Türkiye
Introduction
The spring PACT (Port City Territories in Action) Conference 2026 was held in the historic maritime hub of Lisbon, Portugal, from March 25th to 27th. Its theme, "living laboratory", encouraged researchers and practitioners to explore the complexities of port city territories vis-à-vis sustainable energy transition.
The afternoon prior to the official beginning of the conference, the Management Committee (MC) met at ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon to discuss strategic goals for the PACT COST Action’s year ahead. Led by Carola Hein, the MC, representing 15 countries, presented working group activities of the past year and plans for the coming one. Key outcomes from the strategy discussions included the formalization of our upcoming Training School (information to follow, please consult the PACT events page), a budget increase to support broader conference participation for researchers and practitioners from all over Europe, and a refinement of the grant-awarding strategy to improve interdisciplinary conversations, and allow scholars and stakeholders across ages and beyond hierarchies to meet.
Heritage and Climate Resilience
The conference itself was held at the Headquarters of the Order of Architects. On Wednesday morning the conference organizers, José Sanchez (AIVP), Pedro Ressano Garcia (ISCTE), and Paula Vale De Paula (IST) opened the floor to international dialogue for the next three days. Keynote speaker Pedro Pinto from the Lisbon City Council delivered a framework based on long term environmental history to show how port city evolution is linked to fluctuating sea levels. He noted that current projections for sea-level rise are remarkably consistent with reconstructed levels from past warm climate periods. This realization shifts our perspective on heritage conservation as the challenges we face today are part of a larger planetary cycle that requires proactive governance rooted in deep-time data.
The Portscape Workshop
Mid-way through the conference participants moved from lectures to active engagement through the workshop “Seeing Energy Through Portscapes”, led by Christel Voncken (TU Delft) and Regina Klinger (TU Delft). This session invited participants to look at the waterfront of Lisbon through a historical lens. By consulting historic imagery, participants were able to decode how energy, labor, and architecture have always been intertwined at the water's edge. They analyzed old maps and photographs to explore how the city’s heritage can provide a blueprint for the green future.
Sensorial Immersions and the Human Element
The conference also emphasized the human element of waterfront development and use through various on-site activities. One exploration was the “Sensorial Walk of Transition Pathways”, led by Francesca Savoldi and Robert Bartłomiejski, leaders of PACT Working Group 3 ‘Theoretical Knowledge’. A sensory walk is a research method where participants move through a landscape, here Lisbon’s waterfront, to document changes using their own bodies and senses. During the walk, participants were equipped with smartphones as an aiding apparatus. This activity aimed to capture how people perceived their surroundings. Did they register the smell of the fish, or the noise of port traffic? What emotions did the different impressions trigger? Those raw sensory feelings can then be turned into an understanding of how the city is changing by recording these moments.
Conclusion
The general takeaway of the PACT Conference “Energy Transition & Waterfront Futures” was that to govern inclusive energy transitions, port and city stakeholders need to consider the land-water relationship as a unity, a continuum. In order to turn this consideration into action, the PACT community and its five working groups are continuing their work to build a roadmap for tomorrow's port city territories during the next three years.
Follow Us
To stay updated on our ongoing research, publications, workshops, and future events, follow the PACT COST Action on our official social media platforms:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pactcostaction/
Instagram: @pact.cost
BlueSky: @pact-costaction.bsky.social
Acknowledgments
This blog post is based on the social media coverage and discussions shared during the conference.
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: Wenjun Feng, and Eliane Schmid.