Based on untapped shipping and urban data, this article compares the diffusion of steam and container shipping at the port city level and at the global scale between 1880 and 2008. A temporal and multi-layered network is constructed, including the pre-existing technologies of sailing and breakbulk. The goal is to check the differences a) between innovations and their predecessors and b) between innovations, from an urban network perspective. Main results show that despite certain differences, such as historical context, voyage length, speed of diffusion, and geographical spread, the two innovations share a large quantity of similarities. They both fostered port concentration, were boosted by city size and port connectivity, bypassed upstream port sites, and diverged gradually from older technologies. This research thus contributes to the literature on cities, networks, innovation, and maritime transport.

本文基于未开发的航运和城市数据，比较了 1880 年至 2008 年间港口城市层面和全球范围内蒸汽和集装箱航运的扩散情况。航海和杂货。目标是从城市网络的角度检查 a) 创新与其前身之间的差异以及 b) 创新之间的差异。主要结果表明，尽管在历史背景、航程长度、扩散速度和地理传播等方面存在一定差异，但两项创新具有大量相似之处。它们都促进了港口集中，受到城市规模和港口连通性的推动，绕过上游港口站点，并逐渐与旧技术分道扬镳。