Introduction – A Multifaceted Approach to Seaports

Ports are multifaceted entities providing economic, social, and environmental value. A port is defined as a transit area, a gateway through which goods and people move from and to the sea. It is a place of contact between land and maritime space, a node where ocean and inland transport lines meet and intertwine; an intermodal place of convergence. They have social and environmental value that can be the object of conflicts with their communities, but also of engagement. Ports come in various sizes and functions and cannot be narrowed down to the geographical notion of a delimited spatial area. The demand and supply of port services are also examined from a microeconomic perspective.