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The question of redefining urban centralities and the practices of city dwellers is relevant in the context of Algerian and Maghreb cities more widely. In Algeria, numerous publications and theses have shown the emergence of new forms and functions of space, even affecting residential neighborhoods, as a result of the redistribution of oil rents and the rise of the import trade. Based on empirical research in a port city in Algeria, this article examines how the process of commercial expansion affects the system of centrality, as well as the spatial practices and representations of inhabitants. It highlights the strategies of private economic and decision-making actors in this process, as well as the relationship that inhabitants develop with these areas. This research shows that the recent commercial dynamics of initially residential neighborhoods have given rise to new market forms, reorganizing the structure of centrality and renewing the everyday life of the inhabitants.

This paper analyzes city-port relationships on a world scale through the three concepts of centrality, nodality and intermediacy. 330 port cities represent half of the world’s coastal urban population and container traffic volumes. A factor analysis highlights the maritime or urban specializations of the nodes. Results show that beyond a north-south hierarchical structure, profiles are distributed across relatively homogenous regional areas. The typology illustrates the disequilibria of city-port relations in major European port cities, while other regions show a higher city-port interdependence. This world differentiation allows the questioning of a unique model of city-port relationships and, at the same time, provides a better understanding of the spatial and functional principles defining the port city in general.

This paper deals with the disparities of influence between port cities from the accessibility to population and wealth perspective. The location of port cities relative to trunk road routes and markets has an impact on their traffic and area of influence. There are major disparities between, and in the ranges. These disparities are quantified and analysed from a sample of 73 cities, using various accessibility indices. The resulting hierarchies give an insight of the dominance of some port cities on others that can help shape local and regional planning policies.

This paper deals with the cultural policy and strategy of Rotterdam, in particular with regard to its designation as the 'European City of Culture' for the year 2001. Having been a port and manufacturing city for many years, with a large proportion of lesser educated people, the city's first goal has been for many years to ameliorate the cultural climate of the city to the benefit of its residents. Since 1987, however, this cultural policy has received an increasingly market-oriented emphasis. The eternal rivalry with Amsterdam, the absolute cultural capital of the country, and the expectation that a cultural image would enhance the attractiveness of the city for economic investments, are the main factors in this reorientation. Rotterdam's prospects in the market of international urban tourism are, however, weak, because this city does not possess an attractive historical core. Therefore, modern architecture has become the trademark of Rotterdam.