The ESPO Award on Social Integration of Ports is entering its 18th edition in 2026, and this year’s theme is “Dual-Use Port-City Projects.”

Both the port and the city need space to develop and meet the challenges of their growing roles and changing responsibilities. On top of that, both ports and cities need each other to realise their ambitions. Beyond being multimodal hubs connecting Europe’s economy and society to the world, ports play a crucial role in Europe’s energy transition, energy security, and military preparedness, requiring state-of-the-art infrastructure, new investments, and additional space. Meanwhile, European cities are growing, facing housing challenges, needing new energy sources and supply, and seeking to provide citizens with sufficient space for culture, education, leisure, and nature.

ESPO Award 2025 winner: Shoreham Port

With the 2026 edition of the ESPO Award, ESPO seeks to give the award to a port managing bodies that has developed port infrastructure and space in such a way that it serves the port function(s) for which it was designed while also allowing the use of the infrastructure for a certain use or function by the city, either simultaneously or complementarily, in case of different seasonal needs for instance.

“The new roles that ports are asked to take up in terms of energy transition, energy security or military preparedness, require a lot of port space. Europe’s ports are in many cases adjacent or part of big city agglomerations who from their side need to expand and accommodate the needs of the citizens both in terms of housing but also in terms of space for leisure and culture. With this year’s award we want to give attention to those ports who successfully try to combine different functions in one infrastructure. This is not only optimising the use of the scarce space but is also allowing citizens who would otherwise not come to the port, to see, feel and understand the port”, says ESPO’s Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost.
Source: ESPO