Silvia Sivo and Eliane Schmid
Port City Territories in Action: A collaborative Laboratory for Inclusive Energy Transition (PACT) was officially launched on October 24th, 2024, as a new COST Action, supported and funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). Management committee members from fifteen European countries joined three COST facilitators to lay the groundwork for the coming four years of researching and networking. PACT’s goal is to think through the future implementation of a sustainable energy transition within port city territories. The local spatial and socio-cultural implications of these upcoming changes will be studied and discussed in order to “propose new methodological responses for knowledge co-production and collaborative planning” (cf. also Memorandum of Understanding, 2024).
The successful proposal for the PACT was written under the leadership of a team of colleagues enthusiastic about energy justice in port city territories —notably Mina Akhavan, Carola Hein, Michael Rodrigues, Francesca Savoldi— in the context of the PortCityFutures Center and accepted on May 17th, 2024. The recent kick-off event marked the first meeting of the elected Management Committee members (MCs), designed to foster group knowledge, introduce the common goals and motivation of this COST Action, clarify open questions, as well as gather initial impressions and ideas for the general framework of this newly composed networking and research group.
In brief, PACT aims to establish a platform to engage and bring together various actors involved in planning for a sustainable energy transition in port city territories, and to formulate both near- and long-term shared visions. Relevant actors include: port authorities, city governments, NGOs, private companies, research institutions, local communities, and various state and non-state bodies. This is doubtless a complex challenge, as port and city interests may diverge substantially, particularly when they intersect. Therefore, this COST Action serves as an essential opportunity to work towards a “holistic understanding of the spatial and socio-cultural implications of the energy transition” in port city territories (Memorandum of Understanding, 2024, p.3). To achieve this goal, PACT is structured around six main objectives: mapping, reframing, co-creating, including, envisioning, and transmitting. These objectives will be pursued within five dedicated working groups.
Working Group One, “PACT Framework”, addresses the overall structure and methodology to achieve the goals within this COST Action. During the launch, it was clarified that this working group’s goal is “not to create or provide a tool but rather an understanding for the governance patterns, processes, connections and capabilities” involved in the networks. Guidelines crucial to PACT are assembled and discussed at this stage, including general guidelines set by the EU and specific ones defined by the European Green Deal (European Commission, 2019), the New European Bauhaus (EU, 2021), the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the New Urban Agenda (UN, 2017, 2021) (cf. Memorandum of Understanding, 2024, p.1).
“Knowledge discovery in data” is the focus of Working Group Two. Through this group, a crucial foundation is laid for the other four working groups, as it establishes connections with port and city authorities as well as private companies to assess the data accessible to PACT members. By mapping the data landscape, including the scope, range, and forms of the data available, this group sets the standards for what can be analyzed quantitatively across the PACT network. Access to geospatial data, for example, is crucial to enable meaningful GIS modeling, which will in turn foster communication both with pilot projects and a broader public during the knowledge transmission phase.
Linked to this later phase of knowledge transmission, Working Group Three is tasked with creating a comprehensive glossary to build a common ground for terminology, concepts, and visions within PACT. This glossary seeks to address fundamental questions: What does “sustainability” mean to engineers, urban citizens, port authorities, the shipping industry, etc.? What actually is a “port”? Building a shared taxonomy both for communication and as a point of reference for discussions is essential for a highly transdisciplinary network such as PACT. As discussed in the plenum, Working Group Three is also responsible for developing a standard of ethics to build a basis of trust—PACT should form a community for knowledge creation, reflection, and exchange. The knowledge acquired within PACT is valuable and deserves to be properly acknowledged.
Working Group Four sparked the most enthusiasm, as it adopts a hands-on approach. Four pilot studies were identified by the PACT grant writing team: Le Havre, Livorno, Rotterdam, and Cadiz. Each of these ports are unique in their spatial and governance attributes, yet all offer innovative perspectives for exploring and coordinating sustainable energy transitions. Through multiple workshops and close collaboration with port authorities, stakeholders, and community members—including nearby residents, passersby, and port workers—the pilots will serve both as testing grounds and feedback loops for the other working groups. Keywords for this group were defined by the MCs as: understanding, collaboration, co-creation, and “fertilization”.
Working Group Five takes on the task of “transmitting”. It channels the combined outcomes of working groups one to four to key stakeholders. This transmission of knowledge emphasizes inclusivity and ensures the range of voices within the network and research framework, as well as those directly impacted by the anticipated energy transition, are heard. Transmission efforts include workshops, conferences, formal and informal meetings, and grant writing. The general outreach through the next four years via social media and other platforms will be delegated to an additional subgroup dedicated solely to the knowledge and information dissemination process.
The launch event centered on discussions around these working groups and the election of MCs to co-lead each group – an excellent way to jump head first into the work of PACT! Further topics on the agenda included suggesting alternating meeting spaces, setting standards for working group member search and acceptance processes, and formalizing leadership roles. Carola Hein (TU Delft) was officially elected as the Action Chair, with Karolina Krośnicka (Gdańsk Tech) as Vice Chair, and TU Delft was designated as the Grant Holder institution.
The PACT launch concluded on a motivated and engaged note, with participants lingering to chat about common research interests and plans for future collaboration, while others waved hurried goodbyes as they rushed off to catch trains and planes to their various locations (a trip to sunny Limassol, anyone?). PACT promises to be a worthwhile transdisciplinary network. The Chair, Vice Chair, and MCs invite readers of this blog post to apply to working groups of their choice and become part of this shared community dedicated to shaping a sustainable and just energy transition in port city territories.
Acknowledgments
This blog post has been written in the context of discussions in the LDE PortCityFutures research community. It reflects the evolving thoughts of the authors and expresses the discussions between researchers on the socio-economic, spatial and cultural questions surrounding port city relationships. This blog was edited by the PortCityFutures editorial team: Yi Kwan Chan.
References
Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the COST Action “Port City Territories in Action: A collaborative Laboratory for Inclusive Energy Transition” (PACT) CA23138 (No. COST 051/24). (2024). COST Association. https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA23138/#tabs+Name:Description