ABSTRACT
In this view reasoning may proceed through four steps: (i) the historical stages, which provide a basis for taking into account the evolution of specific sea use categories; (ii) littoral industrialization, regarded as one of the main pro cesses that, in recent times, have involved coastal areas; (iii) the evolution of some sea uses that have played a special role in the present historical phase (as an example, navigation and the offshore oil and gas industry).
