How can we Bring Logistics Back into Cities? The Case of Paris Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This article outlines a logistics pattern which would work at three urban levels. It emphasizes the societal advantages of returning logistics facilities to city centers, and it identifies the required conditions for that. The article uses the example of the Ile-de-France Region, which has Paris as its center. It also draws on the case study of Sogaris, a logistics real estate developer specializing in urban and metropolitan areas. Before achieving a level of technical standardization capable of generating sufficient profitability for innovative logistics real estate tools, public funding is necessary. This is particularly true for multi-story buildings, whose urban positioning and architectural design will have to be exemplary. Other public policies are also necessary to attract logistics back into cities at a logistics cost, not a tertiary service cost. These policies are land control and land holding, especially at multimodal sites; local urban policy and planning, and statutory measures. Public authorities should also become actively involved in the creation of waterway and railway optimized services for city delivery.