“Port Cities. Inclusive Urban Planning” is the title of a summer course organized by the International University of Andalusia (UNIA), which will take place on July 10 and 11 at the Santa María de la Rábida Campus (Huelva). Promoted by RETE (Association for Collaboration between Ports and Cities) and the School of Architecture of the University of Seville, this training activity aims to establish a forum for reflection and analysis on the current situation of the Port-City relationship, as well as to propose a critical view on the quality of life in port cities and their territorial, economic, social, and cultural environment.

The ports of Seville, Bahía de Cádiz, and Huelva will serve as case studies for this summer course, which was presented today at the Reception and Documentation Center of the Port of Huelva. The event was attended by the president of the Port Authority of Seville and vice president of RETE, Rafael Carmona, the president of RETE and the Port of Bahía de Cádiz, Teófila Martínez, and the president of the Port of Huelva, Alberto Santana. Also present were the director of the Santa María de la Rábida Campus of the UNIA, María de la O Barroso, and one of the course directors, Francisco Javier Terrados.

At the event, the president of the Port Authority of Seville and vice president of RETE, Rafael Carmona, highlighted “the work of the ports of Andalusia in their integration with the city with paradigmatic examples such as the case of Málaga and the ongoing project of the Port Urban District in Seville.” Rafael Carmona advocated for the creation of “forums for dialogue and debate to promote the relationship between cities and ports, spaces that accommodate a wide variety of economic activities that add value to the territory.” He also thanked the collaboration of the UNIA, the Cajasol Foundation, and the School of Architecture of Seville for the launch of this summer course and encouraged port cities, associations, organizations, and even citizens to join RETE to “advance in favor of port-city collaboration.”

For her part, the president of RETE and the Port Authority of Bahía de Cádiz, Teófila Martínez, stated that “RETE plays a fundamental role in promoting port-city integration worldwide. Through our initiatives and projects, we work to foster greater collaboration between ports and their surrounding cities, always seeking to improve urban quality of life and sustainable development.”

Similarly, the president of the Port of Huelva, after thanking the presence of the president of the Port of Bahía de Cádiz and the president of the Port of Seville in Huelva, emphasized that “ports will play a crucial role in cities as integrating elements, as will be analyzed in this course, and this is already being demonstrated with the implementation of various projects benefiting the improvement of quality of life in our environment.”

Finally, the director of the Santa María de la Rábida Campus of the International University of Andalusia (UNIA) stated that “at UNIA, we work to be close to our territory, promoting its growth and development, which is why this course becomes fundamental within our Summer Courses program as it focuses on the role that ports have in the urban planning and growth of their cities, and it is important to study and plan it.”

This course is supported by the Port of Huelva and the Cajasol Foundation. The curriculum will be delivered over July 10 and 11, lasting 15 hours. On July 10, the course will start with a lecture on Small-scale Ports in Andalusia. Population, Rural Territory, and Landscape, by Fernando Copado García from the Public Ports Agency of Andalusia. Subsequently, The Ports of General Interest in Andalusia. The Challenges of Port-City Integration will be addressed by Dr. Daniel Navas Carrillo from the University of Málaga. The first day’s session will conclude with a lecture on Port Ecology and Its Transformations. The Case of Motril, by Dr. Juana María Sánchez Gómez from the University of Málaga.

On July 11, the topic will be Ports as Economic Drivers of the City. Future Challenges, by Dr. María del Mar Cerbán Jiménez from the University of Cádiz. Following this, there will be a lecture on The Ekistics of the Urban Port. The Case of the Port District of Seville, by José María de Cárdenas Domínguez-Adame from the Technical Office of the Port of Seville. The session will end with a lecture on Landscape Urbanism in Urban Ports. A Vision from the Academy, by Dr. Francisco Javier Terrados Cepeda from the University of Seville.

More information about this course can be found on the following website:

https://www.unia.es/estudios-y-acceso/oferta-academica/cursos-de-verano/ciudades-portuarias-el-urbanismo-integrados