In a new paper, the authors argue that urban studies must consider urban freight as a crucial component of ongoing urban transformations. The movement of goods is increasingly shaping cities, with uncertain implications for sustainability, livability, and justice. Despite its importance, freight logistics has been largely overlooked in urban studies. This paper aims to address this gap.
First, they review the current literature on urban freight, revealing it is often characterized by a ‘technical-rational model.’ The aim of the broader research field, however, seems to be to solve problems for urban freight rather than to examine the links between logistics systems and the city. Next, they situate urban logistics within urban change’s social and political processes.
Urban freight operations are built into the material fabric of the city and participate in structuring its flows and relationships. They identify key areas for urban scholars to explore at the intersections of urban freight and urban change to better understand the role of freight logistics in urban sustainability transformations.
Urban scholars are missing a crucial factor in ongoing urban transformations by downplaying the movement of goods within cities. We argue that there are conceptual affinities between urban logistics and the study of urban infrastructures, as both are often relegated to background issues despite their significant role in shaping urban dynamics. These systems have fundamental political effects obscured by the technical-rational model prevalent in economic and engineering knowledge domains.
The authors have highlighted interlinkages between urban freight and critical areas such as urban renewal, gentrification, and mobility justice, establishing connections to urban studies. While this is not an exhaustive overview of themes in urban studies that can inform a critical analysis of urban logistics, it aims to introduce urban logistics as a field of inquiry within urban studies.
Beyond specific areas, the primary assertion is that the urban freight system, encompassing various technologies, practices, discourses, resource flows, and infrastructures, represents an overlooked element of urban systems. It does not function in isolation but is intricately linked with broader urban systems. Any attempt at urban sustainability transformations must consider the organized movement of goods. Material flows are fundamental to the constitution of urban space and vice versa.
Urban scholars need to highlight the connections to issues of power, justice, and politics within urban transformations. While others strive to make freight logistics as seamless and invisible as possible, the task of critical urban studies is arguably to do the opposite. Urban planners should expose the tensions and friction that the movement of goods generates.
The development of sustainable urban mobility has advanced significantly more than the narrower sustainability efforts in urban logistics. Logistics organization is still largely considered individually, with consolidation centers being a rare exception. In contrast, mobility planning is rich with practical and theoretical public organization, sharing, and commoning models. However, cities and municipalities increasingly incorporate freight logistics into their planning mechanisms. This shift may allow public and democratic entities to better align sector developments with the public interest.
What alternative models for public and shared urban logistics organizations might emerge? How can we apply the concept of commoning to urban logistics? Potential approaches could include mandatory delivery consolidation, zero-emission zones, setting a minimum number of deliveries per trip, or other yet-to-be-imagined strategies. The platform-based logistics services organization might also facilitate various forms of ‘crowd logistics’, where deliveries are integrated with people’s daily movements – could we envision ride-sharing for packages? Considerable conceptual work is needed to share, debate, and critique emerging models that integrate urban logistics into sustainable urban transitions.
The contribution of this paper to the anticipatory governance of urban freight and urban planning is to clarify that these frictions are unavoidable—rising consumption and increasing expectations for timely and convenient deliveries to a growing number of urban residents have significant political and social implications.
Source: Freight logistics and the city Håvard Haarstad, Rafael Rosales, and Subina Shrestha, Urban Studies 2024 61:1, 3-19
Also read: Is it enough to enable freight? Modes of governance for urban logistics in Norway. This paper shows that urban authorities have a clear presence in freight governance. Still, they see themselves as limited by their institutional mandate or a perceived aversion to regulation – they are unsure what they can or should do.