The project will be based on the port cities of Dunkirk and Rotterdam as two extreme examples of the oil industry’s impact on space and people. The objective is to answer: how did past petroleum activities impact policies, port cities and their inhabitants? One aim is to illustrate the early influence of oil actors on policies, space, and health based on an analysis of archives and past transitional practices to identify oil actors’ influence and pollution. A second objective is to bridge between disciplines by linking historical and spatial data with epidemiologic evidence from health institutions while analyzing policies and regulations. Thus, this project also contributes to current debates toward a just transition leaving no one behind.
