AMENITY CONFLICTS BETWEEN URBAN PORT FACILITIES AND COMMUNITIES IN AUSTRALIA

Selsky and Memon (1997) commented that ports are part of a zone where there is considerable pressure from diverse stakeholders due to technological, economic, political and environmental forces from stakeholders as well as from the wider context management of urban ports. They referred to three forms of community conflicts around urban ports: locational conflicts; failures of corporate social responsibility; and inadequate co-management arrangements. The author analyzed the sources of conflict identified in national surveys of Australian ports from 1999 to 2010 to evaluate the significance of these matters as possible interferences in what Memon and Selsky describe as the amenity commons. An analysis of the Australian Report Cards from 1999-2010 strongly indicates that a direct correlation exists between the economic utility and efficient management of ports and the resulting impact those processes have on their urban neighborhoods and extended communities. The salient discovery is that the issues raised by Menon and Selsky and verified in the Australian Infrastructure Reports mandate the need for improved strategic planning for a reasonable solution for ports and their surrounding communities in the second decade of the 21st century.