ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 contains a detailed analysis of the port towns’ physical and social environment, based on the assessment of the Waterfront Qualities of Identity, Permeability and Dynamics included in the Waterfront Design Matrix, as identified and developed in Chapter 2.
The analysis aims at identifying the factors that affect their urban development, which include the provision of cultural and environmental resources that could be utilised to engender waterfront regeneration (Identity); the extent of the integration between the waterfront and the urban area (Permeability of the Urban Zones); the extent of the integration between the waterfront and the coastal area (Permeability of the Peripheral Zones); the extent of the waterfront accessibility and viability (Dynamics).
This is followed by a comparative discussion on the history of the three port towns’ urban development and landscape transformation, based on the comparison of historical maps. Their distinctive morphology and spatial structure are also compared by looking at their physical attributes, while their potential for sustainable development is evaluated on the basis of the individual cultural and environmental resources, and social dynamics.
Few key factors emerged from the analysis and comparison: the history of the port towns’ original settlements demonstrates an essential and long-established relationship between the urban waterfront and the town urban area as their forms, functions and locations were very much dependant on their proximity to the sea and to a natural harbour, which determined their political, social and economic development; these port towns have never been industrial, in fact their socio-economic profile, before the onset of the tourism industry, was characterised by fishing activities, specialised maritime skills, local port services, and strategic operating services as a naval outpost.
Consequently, within this setting, the phenomenon of waterfront regeneration can take a special form as for all three coastal towns the urban waterfront represents a vital morphological and spatial attribute, while they all rely on the prospective provision of public spaces and facilities that only the urban waterfront can supply.
The understanding of the nature of this type of waterfront in the light of the urban transformations that have changed the town-waterfront relationship and the assessment of their potential cultural and environmental resources, spatial and social provision, are essential factors to envision a theoretical model and practical suggestions for sustainable waterfront design that apply to any coastal and marine area of the Mediterranean Region and beyond.
