Implementing industrial ecology in port cities: international overview of case studies and cross-case analysis

The case studies analyzed can be classified into 9 patterns based on temporal and spatial characteristics of P-IE initiatives. They provide insights on the ports' influence on local IE dynamics: as areas of testing and implementation of industrial symbiosis, ports can constitute exemplary self-sufficient areas, likely to boost the development of other local eco-parks; as drivers of local economic development, ports act as levers for the implementation of sustainable policies at a regional scale; as nodes in a global port network, ports can develop inter-port by-product exchanges and utility sharing. Ports question the relevance of geographical proximity in IE.