Reconfiguring Ocean-City Relations: The Blue Economy’s Impact on Performativity in Port Cities

This paper explores the transformative impact of the Blue Economy on the performativity of port cities, with a focus on the evolving relationship between urban environments and the Global Ocean. By comparing different stages of port city interactions with the ocean, I highlight key performative features of economy, technology, politics, and culture that emerge through these shifts. Using Actor-Network Theory as a framework, I analyze how the Global Ocean, treated as a non-human actant, translates across the global market (economy), port infrastructure (technology), city governance (politics), and urban users (culture).

Drawing on findings from a Short-Scientific Mission Grant COST Action CA22122 - Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-Ecological Impacts and Opportunities (RethinkBlue), conducted at PortCityFutures in Delft and Rotterdam, I focus on Rotterdam as a case study for understanding the Blue Economy’s performativity. Through content analysis of publications, promotional materials, and performative walks within the maritime spaces of Rotterdam, I construct a performative frame of the city’s role within the Blue Economy. This analysis aims to reveal the ways in which human relations with the ocean—shaped by economic interests, heritage traditions, cultural values, and emotional action nets—have transformed the symbolic and functional roles of both the ocean and port cities.

By revealing the ongoing reconfiguration of ocean-city relations, this research highlights the ways in which economic transformation and technological innovation drive the evolving role of port cities within global politics and maritime networks. The paper provides a sociological perspective on how urban infrastructures, maritime technologies, and political governance mediate relations with the ocean, while reshaping the performativity of both port cities and the Global Ocean.