City logistics, urban goods distribution and last mile delivery and collection

TLDR

Supply chains, logistics, and freight face increasingly complex challenges from economic transitions, urbanization, city design, transport systems, and associated externalities, yet the field lacks a clear synthesis of current thought. The article aims to organize urban logistics research by providing a framework of geographical and functional elements, typifying the literature, and defining key terms such as city logistics, urban goods distribution, and last‑mile logistics. The authors conduct a critical review of the literature to highlight current approaches in urban logistics.

Abstract

Supply chains, logistics and freight have been facing increasingly complex challenges posed by transitions in economic structures, urbanization, city design and transport systems, as well as by the externalities associated with logistics activities in urban areas. This has driven a great deal of research recently. Yet, there are no sufficient contributions clarifying the current state of thought in this field. This article critically reviews the literature highlighting current approaches in the field. The objective of the article is threefold. First, to provide a framework with geographical and functional elements of urban logistics. Second, to identify the scope of the literature, vested into a typology. And third, to define the terms that may embrace the various analytical interests of the urban logistics field, namely city logistics, urban goods distribution and last mile logistics. The aim is to contribute to organize the current and future thought in the field of urban logistics.