Patrick A . Witte | Utrecht University (original) (raw)

Papers by Patrick A . Witte

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond the dikes: an institutional perspective on governing flood resilience at the Port of Rotterdam

Maritime Economics & Logistics

Seaports, infrastructural nodes in global supply chains and production processes, are vulnerable ... more Seaports, infrastructural nodes in global supply chains and production processes, are vulnerable to flood risks: they are crisis-prone critical infrastructure (CI) systems. However, the governance of their flood resilience involves many different private and public actors in a complex institutional environment and there is no scholarly consensus about how resilience can be successfully governed. We investigate the governance of flood resilience at the Port of Rotterdam (PoR) from an institutional perspective, by studying institutional arrangements for flood resilience within and across vertical, horizontal and territorial dimensions to elucidate the strengths and ongoing challenges of shaping the port’s flood resilience. We conducted semi-structured expert interviews (n = 17) and an analysis of policy documents and legislation (n = 33) relating to flood risk management and CI protection. We find that the institutional design for flood resilience in the Netherlands consists of a comp...

Research paper thumbnail of Coping with corridors: the case of CODE-24

Research paper thumbnail of Self-Organisation in Oosterwold, Almere: Challenges with Public Goods and Externalities

Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 2017

Attention to self-organisation and spontaneous order in urban development is growing both in acad... more Attention to self-organisation and spontaneous order in urban development is growing both in academia and in planning practice. One of the current academic discussions centres around the desirability of self-organisation. This paper evaluates the case of self-organisation in Oosterwold Almere in the Netherlands-an atypical case as it is a large-scale experimental project of organic urban development. We analysed how this case deals with traditional welfare-economic justifications for urban planning by the government. Several challenges of self-governing communities in dealing with public goods and negative externalities are identified. The case of Oosterwold highlights the continued importance of collective action, both in the provision and management of public goods and services, and in the prevention of free-rider behaviour and inefficient use of space. In Oosterwold, collective solutions are being established to deal with challenges concerning institutions, common costs, and the liability of replacing the urban planning by the government.

Research paper thumbnail of The contextualization of smart city technologies: An international comparison

Journal of Urban Management

Research paper thumbnail of Ignorance is bliss? An empirical analysis of the determinants of PSS usefulness in practice

Computers, Environment and Urban Systems

Planning support systems (PSS) enabled by smart city technologies (big data and information and c... more Planning support systems (PSS) enabled by smart city technologies (big data and information and communication technologies (ICTs)) are becoming more widespread in their availability, but have not yet been fully recognized as being useful in planning practice. Thus, a better understanding of the determinants of PSS usefulness in practice helps to improve the functional support of PSS for smart cities. This study is based on a recent international questionnaire (268 respondents) designed to evaluate the perceptions of scholars and practitioners in the smart city planning field. Based on the empirical evidence, this paper recommends that it is imperative for PSS developers and users to be more responsive to the fit for task-technology and user-technology (i.e., utility and usability, respectively) since they positively contribute to PSS usefulness in practice and to be more sensitive to the potential negative effects of contextual factors on PSS usefulness in smart cities. The empirical analyses further suggest that rather than merely striving for integrating smart city technologies into advancing PSS, the way that innovative PSS are integrated into the planning framework (i.e., how well PSS can satisfy the needs of planning tasks and users by considering context-specificities) is of great significance in promoting PSS's actual usefulness.

Research paper thumbnail of How do suburban residents organize their daily lives? A behavioural time–space analysis in Beijing, China

Urban, Planning and Transport Research

Research paper thumbnail of An Introduction to Spatial Planning in the Netherlands

Research paper thumbnail of Open Access: More than a one-size-fits-all approach – tailoring flood risk communication to plural residents’ perspectives

Flood Resilience of Private Properties, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Does activity fulfil aspiration? a contextual comparison of smart city applications in practice

Research on smart city projects and applications has been increasing in recent years (Meijer and ... more Research on smart city projects and applications has been increasing in recent years (Meijer and Bolivar 2015). The smart city concept is mostly considered from a technology-oriented perspective that stresses the use of data technologies, big data and ICT to ‘smarten up’ cities. In contrast, attention to soft aspects of the smart city—namely smart governance, people and social learning—seems to be limited in both academia and practice. Moreover, what seems to be largely missing from the literature is empirical insight into the extent to which different smart city aspects are factually known of and applied in different geographical contexts. This contribution presents a contextual comparison of smart city applications based on a mainly quantitative empirical analysis. Particular emphasis is put on the knowledge that government practitioners in the Netherlands have of smart aspects and the extent to which they are willing and able to implement smart aspects in their specific local and...

Research paper thumbnail of Smart urban governance: an alternative to technocratic “smartness”

GeoJournal, 2020

This paper argues for a specific urban planning perspective on smart governance that we call “sma... more This paper argues for a specific urban planning perspective on smart governance that we call “smart urban governance,” which represents a move away from the technocratic way of governing cities often found in smart cities. A framework on smart urban governance is proposed on the basis of three intertwined key components, namely spatial, institutional, and technological components. To test the applicability of the framework, we conducted an international questionnaire survey on smart city projects. We then identified and discursively analyzed two smart city projects—Smart Nation Singapore and Helsinki Smart City—to illustrate how this framework works in practice. The questionnaire survey revealed that smart urban governance varies remarkably: As urban issues differ in different contexts, the governance modes and relevant ICT functionalities applied also differ considerably. Moreover, the case analysis indicates that a focus on substantive urban challenges helps to define appropriate ...

Research paper thumbnail of How smart is smart? Theoretical and empirical considerations on implementing smart city objectives – a case study of Dutch railway station areas

Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 2016

View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 3 View citing articles How smart is sm... more View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 3 View citing articles How smart is smart? Theoretical and empirical considerations on implementing smart city objectivesa case study of Dutch railway station areas

Research paper thumbnail of Coping with Corridors : Agglomeration economies in European transport corridors

Research paper thumbnail of To perform or not to perform ( that ’ s the question ) A statistical analysis of inland port performance in the Netherlands

Most scientific attention in port studies centres on deep-sea ports, in particular container port... more Most scientific attention in port studies centres on deep-sea ports, in particular container ports. In our paper, in contrast, we focus our attention on the determining characteristics of inland port performance in a European context, which is up to now an overlooked part in the scientific literature on port development. Based on a large-scale quantitative dataset of Dutch inland ports we performed various statistical analyses to arrive at a more detailed understanding of the question: what are the determining characteristics of inland ports? We try to explain the performance of inland ports in terms of transhipment level and growth in transhipment by several transport and economic factors. We control for differences in size, in volume growth, in type of port and in availability of a container terminal in the inland port. The findings contribute to the understanding of the performance of inland ports, as explained by general port characteristics. But also, a better understanding of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Competition or complementarity in Dutch inland port development: A case of overproximity?

Journal of Transport Geography, 2017

The port economics literature is extensive, but does not address well the economic effects of inl... more The port economics literature is extensive, but does not address well the economic effects of inland ports development. This paper explores the extent to which spatial proximity of inland ports visa -vis each other influences agglomeration externalities. Spatially lagged regression models are employed to analyse whether spatial dependence between proximate inland ports can be observed or, alternatively, whether the density of the inland port network in the Netherlands is leading to diseconomies of scale because of overproximity. The conclusions indicate that especially in the context of the dense fluvial network of the Netherlands inland ports development involves much competition among inland ports; being proximite to strong neighbouring inland ports is not necessarily beneficial to the growth prospects of an inland port. This indication of overproximity highlights a need for reflection on the possibility of an integrated and coordinated regional governance approach towards inland port development in the Netherlands and NorthWest Europe. The relationship between inland ports and regional development is obviously present, but ambiguous since it involves a multiplicity of interactions among a diversity of actors.

Research paper thumbnail of Facilitating start-ups in port-city innovation ecosystems: A case study of Montreal and Rotterdam

Journal of Transport Geography, 2017

Facilitating start-ups located in the port-city interface is one of the current policy strategies... more Facilitating start-ups located in the port-city interface is one of the current policy strategies of municipalities in many port-cities worldwide to encourage innovations in constantly evolving port areas. This could help the redevelopment of vacant export land, while also offering new economic orientations for the city and the port. The aim of the paper is therefore to explore what conditions are needed to facilitate and encourage start-ups in innovation ecosystems in the port-city interface. The analysis is based on two in-depth case studies of the port-cities of Montreal (Canada) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands). The results indicate that government initiatives to actively facilitate start-ups in formerly industrialized port areas are quite successful. However, the functional linkages between start-ups and port activities remains rather limited, if not entirely absent, and the impact on the functioning of the innovation ecosystem at large is not substantial. Other factors such as capital, collaboration and proximity are valued more than the physical location of the start-up. In this, other actors in the ecosystem besides the municipality and the port authority also play a key role. Furthermore, start-ups often feel limited in their innovative capacity because of stringent regulations and institutional rigidness. Governments and port authorities could facilitate in this respect by working more demand-driven in terms of unburdening and creating more institutional support, instead of imposing top-down rules and regulations to try to govern the ecosystem, which in itself can be considered a contradiction in terms.

Research paper thumbnail of Weakest link or strongest node? Comparing governance strategies for inland ports in transnational European corridors

Research in Transportation Business & Management, 2016

Inland ports are becoming more important in enhancing hinterland accessibility of deep-sea ports.... more Inland ports are becoming more important in enhancing hinterland accessibility of deep-sea ports. Their increasing size and number can however also pose a threat to quality of life in adjacent urban regions, for spatial conflicts between port and urban functions may arise. Therefore, inland port governance strategies are needed. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the findings of an international comparison of municipal governance strategies for inland port development in four different countries along the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. Our findings reflect the difficult position of inland ports relative to urban functions within a densely populated corridor. Sufficient capacity is needed to prevent the occurrence of bottlenecks on links and in nodes, which could limit flows on other parts of the corridor. Increasing inland port capacity should however also be aligned with policy measures in urban regions, to avoid the overlapping of inland port and urban functions which could lead to mutually exclusive land-uses. This poses challenges in terms of inland port governance. We observe that cases in which the port and urban administrations open up the policy process to relevant private stakeholders and the civil society, integrated governance strategies for inland port development are more likely to emerge.

Research paper thumbnail of Characteristics of European inland ports: A statistical analysis of inland waterway port development in Dutch municipalities

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2015

Most scientific attention in port studies centers on deep-sea ports, in particular container port... more Most scientific attention in port studies centers on deep-sea ports, in particular container ports. In our paper, in contrast, we focus our attention on the characteristics of inland waterway ports in a European context. This is an overlooked part in the scientific literature on inland port development, which is up to now mainly concerned with US-based understandings of inland ports. We try to broaden the application of the inland port concept by explaining the development of inland ports in terms of inland waterway bounded cargo throughput. Based on a large-scale quantitative dataset of inland port development in Dutch municipalities we perform various statistical analyses to arrive at a more detailed understanding of the question: What are the characteristics of European inland waterway ports and what transport and economic factors influence cargo throughput on the municipal level? The results in particular highlight the importance of the presence of a container terminal, the diversity in types of goods which are being handled by the inland port and the accessibility of the inland port relative to the regional motorway network as important factors in explaining the size and growth of inland ports. Interestingly, the popular claim in policy of ‘investments in inland port development leading to employment growth’ cannot be confirmed.

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges for Corridors: Future Perspectives on European Corridor Development

Integrated Spatial and Transport Infrastructure Development, 2016

In many European policy documents, the integration of transport, spatial and economic dimensions ... more In many European policy documents, the integration of transport, spatial and economic dimensions in corridor development is advocated as a means to cope with challenges that occur within corridors. For many years, however, knowledge about corridors was only developed from a sector perspective and with a more or less technocratic approach-despite a growing call for a more integrated analysis of corridor issues. To address these challenges efficiently, the integration argument needs specific knowledge on the different problem areas. Therefore, the question remains as to what extent an integrated analysis would be beneficial in resolving persistent corridor issues, such as the existence of bottlenecks. This contribution aims to highlight the outcome of two related research projects in which the possible added value of an integrated perspective on corridor development is addressed. The evidence presented reflects the current state-of-the-art knowledge regarding integrated corridor development and the possible future challenges for European corridors that may result from this. Whether the added value of the integration argument in corridor development can be found in practice will be researched as well as whether this leads to restating the importance of corridors for present-day European policy objectives. Note: This chapter is an adaptation of research carried out in the context of a doctoral thesis (Witte 2014, pp. 19-37 and 127-144) and related research papers. This chapter will summarise the main argument and present the most important findings of the entire research. Overlap between this chapter and the thesis is intentional.

Research paper thumbnail of Chokepoints in corridors: Perspectives on bottlenecks in the European transport network

Research in Transportation Business & Management, 2012

ABSTRACT Intermodal transportation is often hampered by bottlenecks in transportation networks. O... more ABSTRACT Intermodal transportation is often hampered by bottlenecks in transportation networks. One might therefore expect a large amount of academic and policy research to be available that clearly identifies the characteristics of these problems. However, this is not the case. The knowledge presented is rather fragmented and the range of the bottlenecks presented is wide. It fails to grasp the full extent of the problem and especially the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks, for the scope of the research is often limited to a one-sided (logistics) perspective. A theoretical framework has been created to explore the multiple dimensions of bottlenecks. Empirical results show that a customer perspective, which emphasises the importance of the perspective of direct users of transport infrastructure, is the most prominent aspect lacking in the present understanding of bottlenecks. Furthermore, findings suggest that the conception of bottlenecks should be extended by incorporating other (often sectoral) dimensions to tackle the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks. To conclude, an integrative perspective on the analysis of bottlenecks can add important insights to the present body of knowledge. This can be considered crucial information for policymakers as well as private parties dealing with bottlenecks in theory and in daily practice.

Research paper thumbnail of Governing inland ports: a multi-dimensional approach to addressing inland port–city challenges in European transport corridors

Journal of Transport Geography, 2014

Inland ports have been put forward as crucial linkages for efficient global freight transport and... more Inland ports have been put forward as crucial linkages for efficient global freight transport and corridor development. However, the present understanding of inland ports appears to be limited to networkbased views with a maritime port focus (Outside-In), in which inland ports play second fiddle. We argue that inland ports as independent structures (Inside-Out) deserve equal consideration and that in addition to the transport dimension, the spatial, economic and institutional dimensions of inland ports are vital and should not be neglected. The goal of this paper is to apply the concept of port-city challenges to inland ports. The results of an institutional analysis of Dutch case study evidence show that challenges facing inland ports and cities take many forms but that all share a commonality in the trade-offs between positive and negative externalities. We observe different governance strategies in coping with these trade-offs and find that a proactive stance towards zoning contributes to efficiently accommodating mutually exclusive dimensions of inland port development.

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond the dikes: an institutional perspective on governing flood resilience at the Port of Rotterdam

Maritime Economics & Logistics

Seaports, infrastructural nodes in global supply chains and production processes, are vulnerable ... more Seaports, infrastructural nodes in global supply chains and production processes, are vulnerable to flood risks: they are crisis-prone critical infrastructure (CI) systems. However, the governance of their flood resilience involves many different private and public actors in a complex institutional environment and there is no scholarly consensus about how resilience can be successfully governed. We investigate the governance of flood resilience at the Port of Rotterdam (PoR) from an institutional perspective, by studying institutional arrangements for flood resilience within and across vertical, horizontal and territorial dimensions to elucidate the strengths and ongoing challenges of shaping the port’s flood resilience. We conducted semi-structured expert interviews (n = 17) and an analysis of policy documents and legislation (n = 33) relating to flood risk management and CI protection. We find that the institutional design for flood resilience in the Netherlands consists of a comp...

Research paper thumbnail of Coping with corridors: the case of CODE-24

Research paper thumbnail of Self-Organisation in Oosterwold, Almere: Challenges with Public Goods and Externalities

Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 2017

Attention to self-organisation and spontaneous order in urban development is growing both in acad... more Attention to self-organisation and spontaneous order in urban development is growing both in academia and in planning practice. One of the current academic discussions centres around the desirability of self-organisation. This paper evaluates the case of self-organisation in Oosterwold Almere in the Netherlands-an atypical case as it is a large-scale experimental project of organic urban development. We analysed how this case deals with traditional welfare-economic justifications for urban planning by the government. Several challenges of self-governing communities in dealing with public goods and negative externalities are identified. The case of Oosterwold highlights the continued importance of collective action, both in the provision and management of public goods and services, and in the prevention of free-rider behaviour and inefficient use of space. In Oosterwold, collective solutions are being established to deal with challenges concerning institutions, common costs, and the liability of replacing the urban planning by the government.

Research paper thumbnail of The contextualization of smart city technologies: An international comparison

Journal of Urban Management

Research paper thumbnail of Ignorance is bliss? An empirical analysis of the determinants of PSS usefulness in practice

Computers, Environment and Urban Systems

Planning support systems (PSS) enabled by smart city technologies (big data and information and c... more Planning support systems (PSS) enabled by smart city technologies (big data and information and communication technologies (ICTs)) are becoming more widespread in their availability, but have not yet been fully recognized as being useful in planning practice. Thus, a better understanding of the determinants of PSS usefulness in practice helps to improve the functional support of PSS for smart cities. This study is based on a recent international questionnaire (268 respondents) designed to evaluate the perceptions of scholars and practitioners in the smart city planning field. Based on the empirical evidence, this paper recommends that it is imperative for PSS developers and users to be more responsive to the fit for task-technology and user-technology (i.e., utility and usability, respectively) since they positively contribute to PSS usefulness in practice and to be more sensitive to the potential negative effects of contextual factors on PSS usefulness in smart cities. The empirical analyses further suggest that rather than merely striving for integrating smart city technologies into advancing PSS, the way that innovative PSS are integrated into the planning framework (i.e., how well PSS can satisfy the needs of planning tasks and users by considering context-specificities) is of great significance in promoting PSS's actual usefulness.

Research paper thumbnail of How do suburban residents organize their daily lives? A behavioural time–space analysis in Beijing, China

Urban, Planning and Transport Research

Research paper thumbnail of An Introduction to Spatial Planning in the Netherlands

Research paper thumbnail of Open Access: More than a one-size-fits-all approach – tailoring flood risk communication to plural residents’ perspectives

Flood Resilience of Private Properties, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Does activity fulfil aspiration? a contextual comparison of smart city applications in practice

Research on smart city projects and applications has been increasing in recent years (Meijer and ... more Research on smart city projects and applications has been increasing in recent years (Meijer and Bolivar 2015). The smart city concept is mostly considered from a technology-oriented perspective that stresses the use of data technologies, big data and ICT to ‘smarten up’ cities. In contrast, attention to soft aspects of the smart city—namely smart governance, people and social learning—seems to be limited in both academia and practice. Moreover, what seems to be largely missing from the literature is empirical insight into the extent to which different smart city aspects are factually known of and applied in different geographical contexts. This contribution presents a contextual comparison of smart city applications based on a mainly quantitative empirical analysis. Particular emphasis is put on the knowledge that government practitioners in the Netherlands have of smart aspects and the extent to which they are willing and able to implement smart aspects in their specific local and...

Research paper thumbnail of Smart urban governance: an alternative to technocratic “smartness”

GeoJournal, 2020

This paper argues for a specific urban planning perspective on smart governance that we call “sma... more This paper argues for a specific urban planning perspective on smart governance that we call “smart urban governance,” which represents a move away from the technocratic way of governing cities often found in smart cities. A framework on smart urban governance is proposed on the basis of three intertwined key components, namely spatial, institutional, and technological components. To test the applicability of the framework, we conducted an international questionnaire survey on smart city projects. We then identified and discursively analyzed two smart city projects—Smart Nation Singapore and Helsinki Smart City—to illustrate how this framework works in practice. The questionnaire survey revealed that smart urban governance varies remarkably: As urban issues differ in different contexts, the governance modes and relevant ICT functionalities applied also differ considerably. Moreover, the case analysis indicates that a focus on substantive urban challenges helps to define appropriate ...

Research paper thumbnail of How smart is smart? Theoretical and empirical considerations on implementing smart city objectives – a case study of Dutch railway station areas

Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 2016

View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 3 View citing articles How smart is sm... more View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 3 View citing articles How smart is smart? Theoretical and empirical considerations on implementing smart city objectivesa case study of Dutch railway station areas

Research paper thumbnail of Coping with Corridors : Agglomeration economies in European transport corridors

Research paper thumbnail of To perform or not to perform ( that ’ s the question ) A statistical analysis of inland port performance in the Netherlands

Most scientific attention in port studies centres on deep-sea ports, in particular container port... more Most scientific attention in port studies centres on deep-sea ports, in particular container ports. In our paper, in contrast, we focus our attention on the determining characteristics of inland port performance in a European context, which is up to now an overlooked part in the scientific literature on port development. Based on a large-scale quantitative dataset of Dutch inland ports we performed various statistical analyses to arrive at a more detailed understanding of the question: what are the determining characteristics of inland ports? We try to explain the performance of inland ports in terms of transhipment level and growth in transhipment by several transport and economic factors. We control for differences in size, in volume growth, in type of port and in availability of a container terminal in the inland port. The findings contribute to the understanding of the performance of inland ports, as explained by general port characteristics. But also, a better understanding of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Competition or complementarity in Dutch inland port development: A case of overproximity?

Journal of Transport Geography, 2017

The port economics literature is extensive, but does not address well the economic effects of inl... more The port economics literature is extensive, but does not address well the economic effects of inland ports development. This paper explores the extent to which spatial proximity of inland ports visa -vis each other influences agglomeration externalities. Spatially lagged regression models are employed to analyse whether spatial dependence between proximate inland ports can be observed or, alternatively, whether the density of the inland port network in the Netherlands is leading to diseconomies of scale because of overproximity. The conclusions indicate that especially in the context of the dense fluvial network of the Netherlands inland ports development involves much competition among inland ports; being proximite to strong neighbouring inland ports is not necessarily beneficial to the growth prospects of an inland port. This indication of overproximity highlights a need for reflection on the possibility of an integrated and coordinated regional governance approach towards inland port development in the Netherlands and NorthWest Europe. The relationship between inland ports and regional development is obviously present, but ambiguous since it involves a multiplicity of interactions among a diversity of actors.

Research paper thumbnail of Facilitating start-ups in port-city innovation ecosystems: A case study of Montreal and Rotterdam

Journal of Transport Geography, 2017

Facilitating start-ups located in the port-city interface is one of the current policy strategies... more Facilitating start-ups located in the port-city interface is one of the current policy strategies of municipalities in many port-cities worldwide to encourage innovations in constantly evolving port areas. This could help the redevelopment of vacant export land, while also offering new economic orientations for the city and the port. The aim of the paper is therefore to explore what conditions are needed to facilitate and encourage start-ups in innovation ecosystems in the port-city interface. The analysis is based on two in-depth case studies of the port-cities of Montreal (Canada) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands). The results indicate that government initiatives to actively facilitate start-ups in formerly industrialized port areas are quite successful. However, the functional linkages between start-ups and port activities remains rather limited, if not entirely absent, and the impact on the functioning of the innovation ecosystem at large is not substantial. Other factors such as capital, collaboration and proximity are valued more than the physical location of the start-up. In this, other actors in the ecosystem besides the municipality and the port authority also play a key role. Furthermore, start-ups often feel limited in their innovative capacity because of stringent regulations and institutional rigidness. Governments and port authorities could facilitate in this respect by working more demand-driven in terms of unburdening and creating more institutional support, instead of imposing top-down rules and regulations to try to govern the ecosystem, which in itself can be considered a contradiction in terms.

Research paper thumbnail of Weakest link or strongest node? Comparing governance strategies for inland ports in transnational European corridors

Research in Transportation Business & Management, 2016

Inland ports are becoming more important in enhancing hinterland accessibility of deep-sea ports.... more Inland ports are becoming more important in enhancing hinterland accessibility of deep-sea ports. Their increasing size and number can however also pose a threat to quality of life in adjacent urban regions, for spatial conflicts between port and urban functions may arise. Therefore, inland port governance strategies are needed. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the findings of an international comparison of municipal governance strategies for inland port development in four different countries along the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. Our findings reflect the difficult position of inland ports relative to urban functions within a densely populated corridor. Sufficient capacity is needed to prevent the occurrence of bottlenecks on links and in nodes, which could limit flows on other parts of the corridor. Increasing inland port capacity should however also be aligned with policy measures in urban regions, to avoid the overlapping of inland port and urban functions which could lead to mutually exclusive land-uses. This poses challenges in terms of inland port governance. We observe that cases in which the port and urban administrations open up the policy process to relevant private stakeholders and the civil society, integrated governance strategies for inland port development are more likely to emerge.

Research paper thumbnail of Characteristics of European inland ports: A statistical analysis of inland waterway port development in Dutch municipalities

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2015

Most scientific attention in port studies centers on deep-sea ports, in particular container port... more Most scientific attention in port studies centers on deep-sea ports, in particular container ports. In our paper, in contrast, we focus our attention on the characteristics of inland waterway ports in a European context. This is an overlooked part in the scientific literature on inland port development, which is up to now mainly concerned with US-based understandings of inland ports. We try to broaden the application of the inland port concept by explaining the development of inland ports in terms of inland waterway bounded cargo throughput. Based on a large-scale quantitative dataset of inland port development in Dutch municipalities we perform various statistical analyses to arrive at a more detailed understanding of the question: What are the characteristics of European inland waterway ports and what transport and economic factors influence cargo throughput on the municipal level? The results in particular highlight the importance of the presence of a container terminal, the diversity in types of goods which are being handled by the inland port and the accessibility of the inland port relative to the regional motorway network as important factors in explaining the size and growth of inland ports. Interestingly, the popular claim in policy of ‘investments in inland port development leading to employment growth’ cannot be confirmed.

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges for Corridors: Future Perspectives on European Corridor Development

Integrated Spatial and Transport Infrastructure Development, 2016

In many European policy documents, the integration of transport, spatial and economic dimensions ... more In many European policy documents, the integration of transport, spatial and economic dimensions in corridor development is advocated as a means to cope with challenges that occur within corridors. For many years, however, knowledge about corridors was only developed from a sector perspective and with a more or less technocratic approach-despite a growing call for a more integrated analysis of corridor issues. To address these challenges efficiently, the integration argument needs specific knowledge on the different problem areas. Therefore, the question remains as to what extent an integrated analysis would be beneficial in resolving persistent corridor issues, such as the existence of bottlenecks. This contribution aims to highlight the outcome of two related research projects in which the possible added value of an integrated perspective on corridor development is addressed. The evidence presented reflects the current state-of-the-art knowledge regarding integrated corridor development and the possible future challenges for European corridors that may result from this. Whether the added value of the integration argument in corridor development can be found in practice will be researched as well as whether this leads to restating the importance of corridors for present-day European policy objectives. Note: This chapter is an adaptation of research carried out in the context of a doctoral thesis (Witte 2014, pp. 19-37 and 127-144) and related research papers. This chapter will summarise the main argument and present the most important findings of the entire research. Overlap between this chapter and the thesis is intentional.

Research paper thumbnail of Chokepoints in corridors: Perspectives on bottlenecks in the European transport network

Research in Transportation Business & Management, 2012

ABSTRACT Intermodal transportation is often hampered by bottlenecks in transportation networks. O... more ABSTRACT Intermodal transportation is often hampered by bottlenecks in transportation networks. One might therefore expect a large amount of academic and policy research to be available that clearly identifies the characteristics of these problems. However, this is not the case. The knowledge presented is rather fragmented and the range of the bottlenecks presented is wide. It fails to grasp the full extent of the problem and especially the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks, for the scope of the research is often limited to a one-sided (logistics) perspective. A theoretical framework has been created to explore the multiple dimensions of bottlenecks. Empirical results show that a customer perspective, which emphasises the importance of the perspective of direct users of transport infrastructure, is the most prominent aspect lacking in the present understanding of bottlenecks. Furthermore, findings suggest that the conception of bottlenecks should be extended by incorporating other (often sectoral) dimensions to tackle the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks. To conclude, an integrative perspective on the analysis of bottlenecks can add important insights to the present body of knowledge. This can be considered crucial information for policymakers as well as private parties dealing with bottlenecks in theory and in daily practice.

Research paper thumbnail of Governing inland ports: a multi-dimensional approach to addressing inland port–city challenges in European transport corridors

Journal of Transport Geography, 2014

Inland ports have been put forward as crucial linkages for efficient global freight transport and... more Inland ports have been put forward as crucial linkages for efficient global freight transport and corridor development. However, the present understanding of inland ports appears to be limited to networkbased views with a maritime port focus (Outside-In), in which inland ports play second fiddle. We argue that inland ports as independent structures (Inside-Out) deserve equal consideration and that in addition to the transport dimension, the spatial, economic and institutional dimensions of inland ports are vital and should not be neglected. The goal of this paper is to apply the concept of port-city challenges to inland ports. The results of an institutional analysis of Dutch case study evidence show that challenges facing inland ports and cities take many forms but that all share a commonality in the trade-offs between positive and negative externalities. We observe different governance strategies in coping with these trade-offs and find that a proactive stance towards zoning contributes to efficiently accommodating mutually exclusive dimensions of inland port development.