How do we want the ‘liveable city’ to look? And what concrete steps are needed to get there? The delivery van is blocking the pavement. The cargo bike is maneuvering through a narrow alley. The parcel locker is disrupting the streetscape. Familiar scenes in almost every Dutch city. But are these logistics problems or design failures?
Researchers from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and TU Delft presented a provocative thesis at the Vervoerslogistieke Werkdagen: urban logistics conflicts are, at their core, urban design challenges and have for too long been treated as mere enforcement or mobility issues.
Two worlds that barely know each other
City logistics and urban design have largely developed in parallel, with little crossover. Many of the streets, building blocks, and pavements we use today were designed before the rise of e-commerce, just-in-time supply chains, and platform services. The result: streets that function as improvised logistics zones, with all the conflicts that entails.
By 2035, logistics pressure in Dutch cities is expected to increase by nearly 20%. That calls for proactive design rather than reactive prohibition.
Six dimensions, one blind spot
Drawing on a systematic analysis of 83 international studies, the researchers examine city logistics through the lens of Carmona’s urban design framework, which distinguishes six design dimensions: functional, morphological, social, perceptual, visual, and temporal. The functional dimension (traffic flow, accessibility, emissions) almost entirely dominates research in city logistics. The visual dimension is entirely absent from the literature, and the social, perceptual, and temporal dimensions remain severely underexplored. That is a significant gap.
How a street looks and feels partly determines whether logistics infrastructure is socially accepted. Parcel lockers and microhubs that are poorly integrated into the streetscape undermine a place’s identity. Unpredictable delivery movements increase stress for pedestrians and cyclists, particularly among vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children. And logistics that are only regulated spatially, not temporally, inevitably lead to peak congestion during busy hours.
Time-sharing as opportunity
The temporal dimension in particular offers real potential. Streets can be designed around time-sharing: the same space functions as a public living zone during the day and a supply route in the early morning. The Lijnbaan in Rotterdam (car-free since 1953) shows that a clear morphological structure with rear-access logistics works well.
Timely too is Rotterdam’s new Traffic Circulation Plan, in which streets such as the Meent and the Aert van Nesstraat are being examined as case studies using an urban design evaluation tool that the researchers have developed.
From reactive to proactive
The core message for municipalities and area developers is clear: design logistics into the street, not around it. That means treating loading and unloading zones not as technical afterthoughts, but as integral parts of the street profile — with attention to materials, social inclusion, visual quality, and temporal flexibility. Only then does policy shift from enforcement to facilitation, and from conflict to coexistence.
Sun, J., van Duin, J.H.R. & Tavasszy, L.A., (2026). Defining the Interface between City Logistics and
Urban Design: A Systematic Literature Review, presented at City Logistics 2025, under review.