What should be included in the election programs of parties that truly care about a livable, accessible, and vital city center?
It is commendable that a local party commits to smarter urban logistics… but with the right starting points. D66 Eindhoven states: “We are investing in smart urban logistics. With transshipment hubs, we ensure that shops, hospitality businesses, and companies are supplied efficiently, and that the enormous construction flows for new housing proceed safely and smoothly. In addition, we are creating more parcel pick-up points in neighborhoods, so that traffic and nuisance decrease and residents can collect their orders nearby.” D66 in Hoorn wants one or more distribution centers on the city’s outskirts for clean urban logistics.
GroenLinks Amsterdam is focusing on cleaner and smarter urban logistics. Smaller, electric vehicles reduce congestion on narrow streets and quaysides and contribute to better traffic safety and quality of life. By consolidating goods flows for the last kilometers in the city, preferably via the water, the city can be supplied more efficiently and quietly. They support and stimulate carriers in this sustainability transition. They actively facilitate cooperation through shared transshipment points and consolidated transport and, where possible, intend to make this approach mandatory over time.
Well-intentioned… but these are not the real solutions. Participation without insight leads to statements without foresight…
Busy shopping streets
Last year, Dutch shopping streets became slightly busier again. Particularly in major cities, physical shops appear to be making a cautious comeback, according to sensor measurements from the research agency RMC across nearly 100 shopping streets and retail areas.
The annual analysis by RMC shows that the number of visitors in 2024 rose by 3.1 percent compared to the previous year. The largest cities in particular attracted more visitors: Amsterdam and Rotterdam recorded growth of around 10 percent. In medium-sized cities, visitor numbers remained virtually unchanged, while small cities showed a slight 1 percent increase.
Dutch municipal elections
The municipal elections of 2026 are approaching. A good moment to think about the future of our city centers. So what should be in the parties’ election programs that truly care about a livable, accessible, and vital city center?
The city center is the calling card of municipalities: vibrant, attractive, and full of history. This is where residents, visitors, shopkeepers, and hospitality businesses come together. But behind that vibrancy lies an enormous logistical puzzle. Every day, vans, trucks, cargo bikes, and sometimes boats come and go to supply shops, deliver fresh products to restaurants, perform maintenance, and collect waste. Without logistics, the city center literally comes to a standstill.
Space is under pressure
At the same time, space in the city center is under pressure. Space for movement must become space for staying, with pedestrians genuinely given priority. The narrow streets and canals were not built for freight traffic, yet there is ever more logistics traffic. Space for loading and unloading is scarce. And with the introduction of zero-emission zones from 2026, the playing field is changing once again. Electric transport is good for the climate, but not every business owner can simply make the switch. Without smart collaboration, supply risks become more expensive and the options for business owners are fewer.
This is therefore a task for local politics: supply is not a technical detail but a precondition. Whoever chooses a livable, accessible, and vital city center also chooses smart urban logistics.
Work together with carriers
More delivery vans in the city? That simply no longer works. Municipalities and businesses must work together over the next four years to consolidate deliveries. Fortunately, carriers bring more than freight: they bring practical knowledge. Their advice is concrete and immediately applicable. Ensure a single point of contact and clear rules — this saves time and costs. Maintain sufficient loading and unloading spaces at well-accessible, safe locations. Grant privileges to clean vehicles with intelligent access. And involve carriers and recipients early in road works and traffic plans.
Not only do large cities struggle with this puzzle. Medium-sized municipalities with compact centers face the same pressures. There, the balance between liveability, visitors, and supply is perhaps even more fragile. Tailored solutions are needed, but within a national framework that provides clarity for business owners active in multiple municipalities.
Each sector also has its own challenges. Shops and hospitality businesses need spacious unloading locations and flexible delivery times. Supermarkets want to receive deliveries outside peak hours. Parcel services call for hubs on the outskirts of the city. Construction logistics requires clear rules and coordination. And waste collection can be made smarter with data and broader time windows.
The common thread is collaboration: urban logistics is too complex to manage from behind a desk. Only by working with carriers, business owners, and residents to develop practical solutions will city centers remain accessible, livable, and vital.
Consistent policy
An important precondition for success is that municipalities share knowledge about what works and what does not. Many cities face the same challenges: limited space, the introduction of zero-emission zones, the need for hubs, and coordination with business owners. By sharing experiences, municipalities do not have to reinvent the wheel each time. That saves time, money, and energy and prevents policies from turning out to be difficult to implement or ineffective.
Knowledge sharing also ensures consistency. Transport companies often operate in multiple municipalities. If every city applies different rules or time windows, a patchwork of policies emerges. Uniformity makes it easier to invest sustainably and plan routes more efficiently. By learning together from (joint) pilots, monitoring, failures, and successes, a realistic and workable policy emerges.
The message for the election programs is simple but urgent: without smart logistics, the city center will grind to a halt. Whoever chooses a vital city center chooses the quiet engine that keeps it running: logistics. That, therefore, belongs in election programs and coalition agreements. And of course, that also means adequate resources for policy and implementation.
Walther Ploos van Amstel