The Relationship between Port and City Growth : The Case of Ningbo

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between port and city growth with the help of the port impact curve and relative concentration index (RCI). This is done from the two aspects of (1) clarifying the characteristics of the interaction between Ningbo port and city, and (2) clarifying the phased development of the relationship between Ningbo port and city.Design/Methodology/Approach – Based on the method of the port impact curve and RCI, we conduct a case study of Ningbo, a port-city in Southeast China, and we also make a meaningful comparison between Ningbo and other famous port cities in China.Findings – This paper finds that Ningbo port and city have been in a relatively loose relationship from 2010 to 2021. Over these 12 years, the relationship between Ningbo port and city has shown signs of changing from the stage of agglomeration and diffusion effect to the stage of urban self-growth effect. Also, we find that, compared with other port cities, the positive correlation between Ningbo port cargo throughput and urban economy development is relatively weak. However, Ningbo’s export-oriented economic characteristics form a certain boost for the development of port container throughput.Research Implications – In the management of this paper, this study revealed the flexibility and complexity of the port-city relationship, suggesting that the stage characteristics of the port-city relationship should be combined on the road of the sustainable development of ports and cities, which will also provide reference for follow-up research