ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the spatial implications of the city's position in a network of national and international sites interlinked by knowledge flows and the ports position in a global system of physical production and transportation. Urban regeneration debates in European port cities have been going on for the last two decades. Port cities that have lost out in the fierce battle of port competition, mostly due their disadvantageous geographic location or dispositions, are trying to re-establish themselves as tourist destinations and/or service hubs. Due to recent developments in the way people work and live in Europe, the importance of place has increased: globalization has led to a fierce competition for talent and capital as a basis for prosperity. The globalization of production and consumption has changed the conditions for cities in global competition, shaping the evolution of spatial processes.
