The journal published by RETE invites researchers, professionals and policymakers to submit contributions on new port-city territories in the networked era
PORTUSplus, the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal published by RETE, has opened the call for papers for the Special Issue “Landscapes of Port Clusters: Rethinking Port-City Territories in a Networked Era”, devoted to the analysis of port clusters as new spatial, territorial and governance formations.
The call, guest edited by Beatrice Moretti, invites researchers, scholars, professionals, policymakers and other stakeholders connected to port and urban studies to submit original papers, empirical analyses, case studies and best practices that contribute to understanding the evolution of clustered port systems and their impact on port-city relationships.
In recent decades, the global port system has undergone profound transformations driven by logistics integration, governance reforms and the increasing complexity of maritime networks. In this context, port clusters are emerging as geographically concentrated and functionally interconnected systems of ports, infrastructures and related activities.
The Special Issue aims to foster reflection on how these clustering processes are redefining the spatial, environmental and socio-political dimensions of port-city territories. The call pays particular attention to issues such as new territorial configurations, integrated governance, port-city-territory interfaces, logistics integration, environmental transition, spatial analysis tools and future scenarios for clustered port-city regions.
Contributions must be submitted in English. If deemed appropriate, authors may also submit a second version in one of the other languages accepted by the journal: French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.
The planned schedule sets 20 July 2026 as the deadline for abstract submissions and 30 September 2026 as the final deadline for full paper submissions. Publication of the Special Issue is expected in December 2026.
Full information about the call and the documents in different languages are available on the PORTUSplus website.
