(Re)Imagining Port Cities

This course is a part of Water and Ports, Historic Cities and Landscapes, a 2-course Professional Certificate series from edX.

Port cities are dynamic environments. They face ever-changing challenges and demands from port activities under continually evolving economic and environmental circumstances. They also offer a rich social and cultural environment.

If you are a professional involved in the development and running of port cities this course will offer you a fresh perspective on the complex spatial and socio-cultural relations between ports, cities and regions and between water and land, around the world. This course will provide you with the insights and tools to understand and transform port city regions. By employing a comprehensive cross-cultural perspective you will make better decisions when addressing the challenges port cities face today and when planning for a sustainable and socially just future of your port city in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

If you are a master level student with an interest in a multidisciplinary approach to the development of cities, with a connection to the built and natural environment this course will offer you an insight into the workings of port city development, preparing you better for a possible career in this area.

If you live in a port city this course will help you understand the development of your city, appreciate the hidden potential and help you influence the way your port city deals with issues such as climate change and rising water levels in the future.

What you'll learn

• After taking this course, you will be able to:
• Recognize port cities as a particular type of space, and appreciate their defining characteristics.
• Analyze the complexity of the networks of stakeholders in port cities.
• Analyze moments of change in port cities both global and local and their causes and effects.
• Reflect on contemporary social, economic and environmental challenges and the way decisions taken in the past are still influencing the present and the future.
• Assemble a value-based approach to decision-making in port cities for sustainable development and the benefit of all relevant stakeholders.