Integrated evaluation methodology and its application to freight transport policies in the port of Trieste

In port cities, a smooth integration of the port and the city represents a relevant feature, as it allows to avoid negative mutual effects which can compromise the functioning of the two systems. In fact, the interaction between the port and the city regards not only the economy and transport, but also the environmental, managerial and social fields. Thus, it is essential to identify and design the most appropriate course of action in order to boost the interrelationship between these two entities, along with an efficient performance of port operations: this is possible by adopting a well-structured evaluation methodology that permits to consider many features of the issue at hand and the perspective of various stakeholders. This paper introduces an integrated evaluation method, which combines an analysis by indicators and a multi-stakeholder multi-criteria decision analysis. The method was applied to evaluate the possible implementation of two activities aiming at promoting the port-city integration through the enhancement of freight management in the Port of Trieste. The explicit engagement of the most significant stakeholders in the appraisal procedure and the understanding of their influence over the main goal of the evaluation are specific features of the method.