Giving a direction to port regionalisation: Fid-Bau Portal

Giving a direction to port regionalisation

Monios, Jason / Wilmsmeier, Gordon

Highlights ► Exploration and critique of the port regionalisation concept. ► Focus on the development of inland intermodal terminals. ► Presentation and analysis of field work in Europe and the USA. ► Advancement of theoretical models of port development. ► Addition of drivers and direction to the understanding of regionalisation strategies.

Abstract As theoretical approaches to port development have advanced over the years, the role of the inland terminal has attracted increasing focus, particularly under the framework of port regionalisation. This paper will explore port regionalisation in different contexts through a greater focus on the drivers and direction of a number of inland terminal development strategies. The paper will build on previous work by combining inland terminal taxonomies and the theory of directional development with traditional port development models. Regionalisation strategies will be compared and contrasted through examples derived from field work undertaken in Europe and the USA. The results contribute towards a disaggregation of the process of port regionalisation, revealing different levels of integration and cooperation observed in different location splitting models. In this way, different strategies will be elucidated, enabling further exploration and more nuanced understanding of the institutional aspects of spatial development.