A history of the Port of Long Beach, Calif., from the days of Native Americans in San Pedro Bay to the present, Port Town tells the story of the men and women who took a mud flat and turned it into an economic powerhouse, one of the world's most modern ports.

A relatively new immigrant group in the United States, Cambodians arrived in large numbers only after the 1975 U.S. military withdrawal from Southeast Asia. The region's resulting volatility included Cambodia's overthrow by the brutal Khmer Rouge. The four-year reign of terror by these Communist extremists resulted in the deaths of an estimated two million Cambodians in what has become known as the "killing fields." Many early Cambodian evacuees settled in Long Beach, which today contains the largest concentration of Cambodians in the United States. Later arrivals, survivors of the Khmer Rouge trauma, were drawn to Long Beach by family and friends, jobs, the coastal climate, and access to the Port of Long Beach's Asian imports. Long Beach has since become the political, economic, and cultural center of activities influencing Cambodian culture in the diaspora as well as Cambodia itself.

Few other cities can boast of the natural assets, the people, and the events that shaped the first 50 years of their history, as can the city of Long Beach, California. First inhabited by the Tongva people, the land was taken away by the Spanish, then granted to "friends of the King," who in turn sold parcels to real estate speculators working with the railroads. It was called many names before Belle Lowe suggested in 1884 that the townsite be known for its eight miles of long beaches. Its oceanfront provided a resort area, a landing strip for early aviators, a fishing industry, a port for shipbuilding and trade, and a location for the US Navy to anchor its "battle fleet" in 1919. However, discovery of oil in 1921 transformed the city, bringing incredible wealth and an explosive growth in population. By 1938, the city's population was 200,000 and would be a major factor in the Southern California war effort.

The author chronicles LA's emergence as the nation's leading trade centre and gateway to the Pacific Rim in the 20th century, exploring recent epic battles over port development, expanding LAX, creating a new international airport in Orange County, building the Alameda Corridor rail link and more.

Port Economics, Management and Policy provides a comprehensive analysis of the contemporary port industry, showing how ports are organized to serve the global economy and support regional and local development. Structured in eight sections plus an introduction and epilog, this textbook examines a wide range of seaport topics, covering maritime shipping and international trade, port terminals, port governance, port competition, port policy and much more. Key features of the book include: Multidisciplinary perspective, drawing on economics, geography, management science and engineering Multisector analysis including containers, bulk, break-bulk and the cruise industry Focus on the latest industry trends, such as supply chain management, automation, digitalization and sustainability Benefitting from the authors’ extensive involvement in shaping the port sector across five continents, this text provides students and scholars with a valuable resource on ports and maritime transport systems. Practitioners and policymakers can also use this as an essential guide towards better port management and governance.