Cities all over the world are rethinking their mobility policies in light of environmental and quality of life objectives. As space is one of cities’ scarcest resources, mobility’s spatial footprint is increasingly scrutinized as externality to mitigate. Similar to passenger transport, goods transport is envisioned to shift towards efficient and zero emission mobilities. To achieve an urban logistics system that eliminates inefficiencies and fossil fuels, the logistics sector requires space to unload, cross-dock, consolidate and stock goods closer to their destinations. Such a ‘proximity logistics’ is however at odds with ‘logistics sprawl’, the historic outward migration pattern of logistics facilities. With policies and planning, cities can support the (re)integration of logistics facilities in urban areas to facilitate and enable the shift to an efficient urban logistics system. Logistics still being a largely neglected policy subject in many cities, knowledge on how to approach this (re)integration is hardly available. Therefore, we compare two pioneering cities: Rotterdam and Paris. Both cities have an established track record in advancing urban logistics policies and are spearheading the practice of planning for logistics. Based on interviews and policy analyses, we develop best practices on how to address the integration of urban logistics facilities for cities.
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Several studies show that logistics facilities have spread spatially from relatively concentrated clusters in the 1970s to geographically more decentralized patterns away from urban areas. The literature indicates that logistics costs are one of the major influences on changes in distribution structures, or locations and usage of logistics facilities. Quantitative modelling studies that aim to describe or predict these phenomena in relation to logistics costs are lacking, however. This is relevant to design more effective policies concerning spatial development, transport and infrastructure investments as well as for understanding environmental consequences of freight transport. The objective of this paper is to gain an understanding of the responsiveness of spatial logistics patterns to changes in these costs, using a quantitative model that links production and consumption points via distribution centers. The model is estimated to reproduce observed use of logistics facilities as well as related transport flows, for the case of the Netherlands. We apply the model to estimate the impacts of a number of scenarios on the spatial spreading of regional distribution activity, interregional vehicle movements and commodity flows. We estimate new cost elasticities, of the demand for trade and transport together, as well as specifically for the demand for the distribution facility services. The relatively low cost elasticity of transport services and high cost elasticity for the distribution services provide new insights for policy makers, relevant to understand the possible impacts of their policies on land use and freight flows.
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DISCO aims at fast-tracking upscaling to new generation of urban logistics and smart planning unblocking the transition to decarbonised and digital cities, delivering innovative frameworks and tools, Physical Internet (PI) inspired. To this scope, DISCO will deploy and demonstrate innovative and inclusive urban logistics and planning solutions for dynamic space re-allocation integrating urban freight at local level, within efficiently operated network-of-networks (PI) where the nodes and infrastructure are fixed and mobile based on throughput demands. Solutions are co-designed with the urban logistics community – e.g., cities, logistics service providers, retailers, real estate/public and private infrastructure owners, fleet owners, transport operators, research community, civil society - all together moving a paradigm change from sprawl to data driven, zero-emission and nearby-delivery-based models.
