A concluding debate with international experts to synthesize key insights and draw conclusions from the various discussions held throughout the conference on port city development.
A concluding debate with international experts to synthesize key insights and draw conclusions from the various discussions held throughout the conference on port city development.
Thanos Pallis is Professor Port & Shipping Economics and Policy at University of Piraeus, Greece where he holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European Port Policy. A founding member and co-director of the PortEconomics network, and vice-chair of the Port Performance Research Network (PPRN), For five years he was the Secretary General of MedCruise, the association representing more than 150 cruise ports in 20 countries in the Med. In Greece, he served as General Secretary of the State for Ports & Port Policy. The immediate past President of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) he was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University NY. in 2025 he was included in the top-2% of the world's most cited researchers in transport & logistics, due to his research in port economics and policy,. He co-authors the IAPH World Ports Tracker, and the book and on-line project Port Economics, Policy and Management (Routledge 2022; 2026).
Jeffrey S. Nesbit is an architect, urbanist, and founding director of the research group Grounding Design. His experience spanning over a decade includes leading design teams for public architecture and large-scale urban projects, along with managing sponsored design research projects for city governments, local institutions, and NGOs. Nesbit’s research focuses on processes of urbanization, infrastructure, and the evolution of "technical lands." His current research projects explore the architecture and infrastructure of planetary ports, the American rocket launch complex, and distant sites at the ends of the world.
Carola Hein is Professor History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology and Professor at Leiden and Erasmus University. and director of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus PortCityFutures Centre. She holds the UNESCO Chair of Water, Ports and Historic Cities and leads the LDE PortCityFutures Centre. She has published widely in the field of architectural, urban and planning history, tying historical analysis to contemporary development. Her recent (co-)edited books include: Hustle and Bustle (2025), Port City Atlas (2023), Oil Spaces (2021), Urbanisation of the Sea (2020), Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage (2020), The Routledge Planning History Handbook (2018).