Introduction: The Mediterranean in ‘liquid’ times

Enrico Tommarchi; Wendy Jo Mifsud

doi:10.4324/9781003614760-1

Introduction: The Mediterranean in ‘liquid’ times

Enrico Tommarchi
, Wendy Jo Mifsud

Architecture and Urban Planning

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

This introduction chapter outlines the conceptual framework of the volume. Firstly, by building on existing conceptualisations of ‘liquidity’ and ‘liquid cities’, it introduces the idea of ‘liquid port cities’ to acknowledge the socio-economic and political framework of late neoliberalism, and the more globalised yet uncertain world that contributes to shaping contemporary port cities. Secondly, this chapter looks at the ‘Mediterranean’ as a spatial concept, by exploring the challenges that arise with the adoption of this notion, and it interrogates whether a Mediterranean port city culture exists. Thirdly, it explores the ‘Mediterranean’ as a geographical space, and introduces the challenges facing Mediterranean port cities today. The chapter then presents the three thematic sections of the volume, namely on emerging cultural narratives of Mediterranean port cities, on new morphological understandings of them, and on the urban dynamics reframing contemporary port-city relationships across the Mediterranean as a result of liquid structural processes. Finally, the chapter introduces the single contributions.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Liquid Port Cities of the Twenty-first Century
Subtitle of host publication	A Pan-Mediterranean Perspective on Cultural Confluences and Contemporary Challenges
Editors	Wendy J. Mifsud, Enrico Tommarchi
Place of Publication	London
Publisher	Routledge
Number of pages	14
Edition	1
ISBN (Electronic)	9781003614760
ISBN (Print)	9781041014386
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003614760-1
Publication status	Published - 28 May 2026

Publication series

Name	Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the Cities
Publisher	Routledge

Access to Document

10.4324/9781003614760-1

Embargoed Document

Author Accepted Manuscript
Accepted author manuscript, 318 KB
Embargo ends: 28/11/2027 00:00 GMT

1 Book
1 Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Conclusions: Embracing fluidity through an engaged research agenda for Mediterranean port cities
Mifsud, W. J. & Tommarchi, E., 2026, Liquid Port Cities of the Twenty-first Century: A Pan-Mediterranean Perspective on Cultural Confluences and Contemporary Challenges. Mifsud, W. J. & Tommarchi, E. (eds.). 1 ed. London: Routledge, p. 218-232 15 p. (Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the City).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Liquid Port Cities of the Twenty-first Century: A Pan-Mediterranean Perspective on Cultural Confluences and Contemporary Challenges
Mifsud, W. J. (Editor) & Tommarchi, E. (Editor), 28 May 2026, 1 ed. London: Routledge. 258 p. (Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the City)
Research output: Book/Report › Book

Cite this

Tommarchi, E., & Mifsud, W. J. (2026). Introduction: The Mediterranean in ‘liquid’ times. In W. J. Mifsud, & E. Tommarchi (Eds.), Liquid Port Cities of the Twenty-first Century: A Pan-Mediterranean Perspective on Cultural Confluences and Contemporary Challenges (1 ed.). (Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the Cities). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003614760-1

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Introduction: The Mediterranean in ‘liquid’ times. / Tommarchi, Enrico; Mifsud, Wendy Jo.
Liquid Port Cities of the Twenty-first Century: A Pan-Mediterranean Perspective on Cultural Confluences and Contemporary Challenges. ed. / Wendy J. Mifsud; Enrico Tommarchi. 1. ed. London: Routledge, 2026. (Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the Cities).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

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Introduction: The Mediterranean in ‘liquid’ times

Abstract

Publication series

Access to Document

Embargoed Document

Fingerprint

Research output

Conclusions: Embracing fluidity through an engaged research agenda for Mediterranean port cities

Liquid Port Cities of the Twenty-first Century: A Pan-Mediterranean Perspective on Cultural Confluences and Contemporary Challenges

Cite this