Is the Location of Warehouses Changing in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area (Brazil)? A Logistics Sprawl Analysis in a Latin American Context

Abstract

The location of logistics facilities is important for urban freight transport. Several metropolitan regions have identified that logistics facilities are relocating to suburban areas outside city center boundaries. This phenomenon is known as logistics sprawl. In this paper, we present an analysis of the logistics sprawl phenomenon in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area (Brazil) between 1995 and 2015, through spatial analysis. The results show a logistics sprawl indicator (average change in the standard distance to the center of gravity) of 1.2 km (17.8 km in 1995 and 19 km in 2015). In addition, we explored the spatial correlation between socioeconomic data and the location of warehouses. In 2015, 80% of warehouses were located in the high-income area. Additionally, most of the warehouses were located within a two-kilometer buffer from the axis of the road and in a five-kilometer buffer from the railroad. Finally, we defined the service areas of the warehouses considering a maximum distance through the network of 5, 10, and 15 km. In 2015, the 15-km service area had a coverage of 89% of the population in the study area.

Freight-Efficient Land Uses: Methodology, Strategies, and Tools

“…Their findings suggest evidence of logistics sprawl in this particular industry at a rate of approximately 100 m/year for the past 25 years. Oliveira, Santos [24] found logistics sprawl in the Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and an average change of 1.2 km between 1995 and 2015. Moreover, in Brazil, Guerin and Vieira [26] analyzed the location of facilities in São Paulo between 2000 and 2017, with an average change in location of 1.8 km.…”

“…Logistical sprawl refers to the tendency of periodically relocating logistics facilities to the outskirts of the city, which, as urban areas grow, results in longer truck travel distances from these facilities to city center [14]. Researchers have studied logistical sprawl in developed countries [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] and developing countries [24][25][26]. He, Shen [27] discusses some of these cases from a sustainability perspective.…”

Influence of Characteristics of Metropolitan Areas on the Logistics Sprawl: A Case Study for Metropolitan Areas of the State of Paraná (Brazil)

“…In Latin America, LS studies were developed for three Brazilian metropolitan areas: Belo Horizonte, Palmas, and São Paulo. In Belo Horizonte, most of the warehouses are located in high-income areas, closer to roads and railroads [13]. Using data from a commercial board, the number of warehouses increased by 322% (95 to 401) between 1995 and 2015, and the LSI was 1.2 km [13].…”

“…In Belo Horizonte, most of the warehouses are located in high-income areas, closer to roads and railroads [13]. Using data from a commercial board, the number of warehouses increased by 322% (95 to 401) between 1995 and 2015, and the LSI was 1.2 km [13]. In Palmas, the logistics land-use planning concentrated the warehouses closer to the city center (+6.06 km in 2002), and its location did not move in 2016 (+5.83 km in 2016).…”

O Papel das Infraestruturas Ferroviárias nas Mudanças de Uso e Cobertura do Solo no MATOPIBA

“…Uma consulta recente aos portais Science Direct e Google Scholar, realizada durante a concepção do presente estudo, revelou a existência de uma lacuna em relação trabalhos científicos destinados a investigar a influência de infraestruturas ferroviárias de transporte de carga nas mudanças de uso e cobertura do solo em escala regional. Embora indiretamente relacionados ao uso do solo, a literatura revela trabalhos que reportam a influência das ferrovias voltadas ao transporte de carga na economia regional (NOBREGA e STICH, 2012;KEELING, 2007;VENCOVSKY, 2006), bem como estudos relacionados ao impacto das infraestruturas ferroviárias nos ecossistemas, biomas, animais e/ou vegetais (KARLSON et al, 2016;HAN et al, 2014, FORMAN et al, 2003, e nas cidades (OLIVEIRA et al, 2018;MAES e VANELSLANDER, 2010). No entanto, a investigação quantitativa desses efeitos em escala macro regional é ainda uma lacuna.…”