​Puertos del Estado shares Spain's port/city experience at the UN World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi

• The port delegation has joined MITMA's institutional mission, in addition to the 18,000 participants from 168 countries at the event
• Progress is being made in sustainable mobility solutions in areas of port influence, through concepts such as Smart Ports and Smart Cities

09-24-2019 (Ministry of Transportation, Mobility and Urban Agenda). Puertos del Estado has presented Spain's experience in port/city areas at the World Urban Forum, which the UN has currently arranged in Abu Dhabi. This event brings together more than 18,000 participants from 168 countries at work meetings, conferences, discussion rooms and networking.

Under the title "Productive City and Circular City. Conversations on the Urban Agenda", a discussion led by the Ministry of Transportation, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA) of the Spanish Government, the Deputy Manager for Planning at Puertos del Estado, Manuel Arana, presented an educational overview of its interaction success stories between urban zones and port areas.

Amongst other Port Authorities, Bilbao, Santander, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Málaga and Avilés served as an example of cultural infrastructures on port land. Barcelona and the Balearic Islands did the same on the compatibility of urban activities and port use, such as cruise ship traffic and nautical sports.

Arana referred to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Centro Botín in Santander, Auditorium Adán Martín in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Centro Pompidou in Málaga and Centro Niemeyer, all as projects that were able to recover port space to the cultural benefit of local citizens. As for Barcelona, Port Vell, Nueva Bocana and Muelle Adosado de Cruceros (Adosado wharf for cruises at Barcelona Harbour) exemplified citizen leisure space in harmony with certain port activities. This was also the case of the port of Ibiza, which has integrated nautical sports into the area adjacent to the historical city center.

In the Side Event Urban Library "Productive City and Circular City. Conversations on the Urban Agenda", in addition to the Deputy Manager for Planning of Puertos del Estado, Manuel Arana, also present were the architect for the Brussels Region, Kristiaan Borret, and the Councilor for Internationalization and Cooperation of the City Council of Madrid, Santiago Saura. Moderation was entrusted to the General Deputy Manager for Urban Policy of the Ministry of Transportation, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA), Ángela de la Cruz Mera.

The Puertos del Estado delegation also includes its Corporate Manager, Magec Montesdeoca, who during the opening session offered a medium-term view of port/city integration, where concepts such as 4.0, Smart Ports and Smart Cities come into play to offer sustainable solutions to accessibility problems.