Adeline Heitz

Logistics Spatial Patterns in Paris: Rise of Paris Basin as Logistics Megaregion

The purpose of this study is to consider the spatial distribution of freight and logistics facilities in both the Paris region and the Paris megaregion (the Paris basin) between 2000 and 2012. A major rise in the number of warehousing and logistics facilities has been documented since the beginning of the 2000s in both areas. In terms of spatial characteristics, this growth illustrates both centrifugal processes, from the urban core to the suburban and exurban areas of the region, and centripetal processes, from the margins of the Paris basin to the edges of the Paris region. The logistics system is a global distribution process from international supply chains to urban supply chains. In this process, freight hubs serve as switches connecting these two scales of the logistics system. This role explains part of the locational patterns of logistics and warehousing facilities in Paris, both at the metropolitan scale of the Ile-de-France region and at the megaregional scale of the Paris basin. Areas of further research are provided; these could help establish and better specify the megaregional nature of the Paris basin as far as freight and logistics facilities are concerned.

Testing the “Freight Landscape” Concept for Paris

The concept of “freight landscape,” the basis for a modeling approach for urban freight traffic estimation using commonly available datasets, was proposed in 2017 with a case study applying it to the Los Angeles metropolitan area. To extend the scope of that research, we conduct another case study using data from the Paris region, France. We estimate spatial lag models using population, employment, or establishment transportation accessibilities as explanatory variables and network-based truck traffic as the dependent variable, modifying the approach used in the Los Angeles study. We identify differences in the characteristics of the variables and the models between the Los Angeles and Paris cases, each having a distinctively different urban structure. While the models estimated for the Paris region provide beneficial insights into the relationships between freight landscape indicators and urban freight traffic, the complex correlation structure among indicators, as well as the limitation of the models for specifying the areas of very high truck traffic, underlines the need for further research on the modeling framework and for more case studies.

Rethinking Data Collection on Logistics Facilities

The aim of this paper is to propose a new methodology for collecting data on logistics facilities in urban regions. This methodology was used to build a database of warehouses and transport terminals in the Paris region for 2015, which added to the various existing databases by using open source data. The new and existing databases were compared so that the limitations of the latter could be considered, and preliminary conclusions were made about the distinctive characteristics of the new methodology. Then, the new database was used to study the spatial distribution of logistics facilities in the Paris region. Finally, a new typology of logistics facilities was proposed to characterize the different logistics sectors without relying on activity codes.