The rapid rise of e-commerce, on-demand services, and shared mobility has transformed public space into a critical logistics and mobility infrastructure. Curbs, sidewalks, and small urban plots—once peripheral in transport policy—are now contested sites for parcel lockers, micro- and mobility hubs, and charging stations. Policy debates and research increasingly frame the curb as a scarce and valuable resource, requiring active management rather than ad hoc use.
Why public space matters today
As cities densify, public space must serve multiple and often competing functions: bus stops, pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) areas, bike lanes, café terraces, freight loading bays, and increasingly, parcel lockers and mobility hubs. The traditional first-come, first-served approach to curb allocation leads to inefficiencies, inequities, and deteriorating public-realm quality. Current handbooks and roundtables argue for an integrated infrastructure approach, where lockers and hubs are managed with the same rigor as parking, transit stops, and bicycle networks. Policy tools include dynamic pricing, permits, and service-level requirements to ensure that scarce curb space aligns with sustainability and accessibility goals.
Parcel lockers: behavioural adoption and network design
A growing body of post-COVID research (2020–2025) converges on the determinants of parcel locker adoption. Behavioural studies show that distance and accessibility, perceived ease and performance, and low perceived risk are the strongest drivers of use. Familiarity further increases uptake, while simple nudges—such as providing information on the nearest locker or highlighting sustainability benefits—can shift consumer choices toward lockers.
Network location and performance are closely linked. Analyses demonstrate that co-location with transit and integration into daily trip chains significantly raise demand and shorten travel for users. However, these same factors can slightly delay pickup times due to congestion at popular nodes, creating a planning trade-off between accessibility and operational smoothness. Multi-criteria siting models, as piloted in Dublin, are now sufficiently mature to support municipal decision-making.
Equity and access are recurring themes. Transit facilities have emerged as promising hosts for common-carrier lockers, extending reach to underserved areas. Yet recent European case studies show that when networks expand in an ad hoc, market-driven fashion, spatial inequities between cores and peripheries persist. Municipal siting strategies can mitigate this by prioritizing placement in peripheral neighborhoods and ensuring integration with public transport nodes.
Governance is catching up. Several European cities, including Prague, have begun to regulate the placement, clustering, and visual integration of lockers into urban streetscapes. Design rules on façade integration, co-location with hubs, and maximum cluster size aim to prevent clutter and maintain public-realm quality. Scholarship on multi-level governance highlights how coordination between state, municipal authorities, and operators can steer locker networks toward climate and accessibility goals.
Meanwhile, market momentum is strong. European carriers and retailers, such as InPost, Geopost, DHL, Royal Mail, and ASOS, are rapidly expanding their locker networks, creating intense competition for prime public-space locations at transit hubs, supermarkets, and high streets. Without planning foresight, cities risk “locker sprawl” and further fragmentation.
Mobility hubs: from pilots to networks
Mobility hubs, once primarily demonstration projects, are now evolving into citywide networks. Guidance from UITP and academic research codifies typologies of hubs, principles of inclusivity, and financing tools, while highlighting the critical role of context-specific spatial factors. Demand depends not only on physical accessibility but also on integration with surrounding land uses and trip purposes.
Mobility hubs increasingly serve as multifunctional nodes, combining shared mobility services with parcel lockers, bike parking, and charging infrastructure. This multifunctionality strengthens their role in sustainable city logistics, yet raises governance questions over land use, funding, and operational responsibility.
Governance, policy, and the European context
The governance landscape is shifting. Cities are issuing placement and design rules for lockers, hubs, and curbside uses. At the European level, the Expert Group on Urban Mobility (EGUM) has urged member states to integrate shared mobility and urban logistics into public space management. These guidelines reflect a growing consensus: the public realm is not an incidental backdrop but a managed asset portfolio.
This shift calls for integration across planning domains. Logistics infrastructure, once considered external to public-space policy, must now be managed alongside transit stops, cycling networks, and parking. Cities are experimenting with permits, fees, and access rules to manage scarce curb space in line with broader sustainability and liveability objectives.
Implications for research and practice
The literature and market developments converge on a key implication: lockers and hubs must be treated as elements of the city’s infrastructure portfolio. This perspective enables planners to allocate curb and public space systematically, balancing logistics efficiency with public-realm quality and equitable access. Future research should deepen understanding of trade-offs between accessibility and congestion, explore governance mechanisms for common-carrier models, and evaluate long-term impacts of digital tools such as curb digitalization and geofencing.
In practice, this means moving beyond pilot projects toward integrated, citywide strategies for delivery infrastructure. Parcel lockers, micro-hubs, and mobility hubs are no longer peripheral add-ons: they are central to shaping sustainable, efficient, and liveable cities.
Also read: Urbanization and the Imperative of Public Space: A Global Perspective