Logistics Sprawl and Urban Freight Planning Issues in a Major Gateway City - Sustainable Urban Logistics: Concepts, Methods and Information Systems - page 48

Logistics Sprawl and Urban Freight
Planning Issues in a Major Gateway City

The Case of Los Angeles

Laetita Dablanc

Abstract This chapter examines the spatial patterns of freight and logistics
activities and the planning and policy issues associated with them, using Los
Angeles as a case study. The rapid increase in the number of freight facilities in
Los Angeles in recent decades is discussed. An important aspect of the geography
of the logistics industry in the Los Angeles metropolitan area is identified:
''logistics sprawl'', which is the spatial deconcentration of logistics facilities and
distribution centers. Local governments give explicit consideration to logistics
activities, especially for the jobs and tax revenues they can generate in a time of
economic difficulties. Two cities are examined in detail: one is a traditionally
industrial city close to the downtown area, the other is a sprawling community of
the ''Inland Empire,'' east of the L.A. metro area. Both cities tell the story of the
seemingly inescapable rise in the importance of the warehousing/logistics industry
in the economic life of working class areas, raising questions about the pros and
cons of logistics activities for local communities.

Keywords Economic development Logistics land use Logistics sprawl Urban
planning Warehouses

1 Introduction

The Los Angeles I am going to talk about in this chapter is a multi-polar urban area
of 17 million people. It is made up of the city of Los Angeles (four million
inhabitants), the County of Los Angeles (another 6 million), the Los Angeles