Sustainability and community involvement in port redevelopment

Many ports have unused or infrequently used buildings within the port area. Ports may have concentrated their main business activities into more compact and secure areas leaving them with resources that are costing them money to maintain without any current potential to generate income. The availability of land or buildings for such redevelopment may be the result of a decline in traditional industries or, conversely, improvements in port operations through more efficient cargo handling and improved logistics chains, or where containerisation means that cargo operations are concentrated in larger ports. Where goods transit ports rapidly via improved road and rail links then there is less need for warehousing and an increase in empty buildings.