Images and Spaces of Port Cities in Transition

Abstract

The concept of a port city, when narrated by popular visualities, goes through intense transformations of port spaces. Globalization, technological transformations of the maritime industry, and waterfront renewal programs influence a romantic myth of the port town and maritime culture. The aim of the article is to interpret the cultural conventions governing the portrayal of port cities and present a picture postcard as a visual narrative. Visual discourse analysis is used for a study of seven European port cities and their visual representations. Three metaphorical dominants of visual discourse have been distinguished: (1) waterfront and the port town tertiary sector; (2) technology, power, and domination; and (3) maritime culture and romanticism. The postcards that are analyzed reflect a tension between the intensely transformed postindustrial areas and the romantic images of a port city.