The relationship between city and port in Algeciras, had always been, in a certain
manner, one of indifference and a palpable lack of mutual interest. This rejection from both parties is
now changing in the interests of achieving a better understanding. It appears that in the last few
years, both the port authorities and the local, metropolitan and regional administrations have overcome
their paralysis and are meeting, eager to reconcile, and with new intentions which are beginning to take
shape in Algeciras. This synergy takes place under the control of the APBA, (Port Authority of Algeciras
Bay), which coupled with the fact that 2006 is the first Centennial of the international Conference of
Algeciras held in 1906 and of the creation of the Works Committee of the Port, has been the final
trigger for a series of actions, promoted by APBA, which make Algeciras a centre of attention of portcity
interventions, although not for unique large-scale projects, but by approaching the situation through
diverse actions that have constituted a territorial scale project. Different initiatives have taken
place in response to different border situations, where we find examples of blurred limits which produce
spaces susceptible to adhering to the city in exceptional locations, or cases where contact with natural
surroundings are dealt with and locations where action is carried out on the border itself, intervening
on its perception and understanding.
