Defining and characterizing Urban Logistics Spaces: Insights from a port city and generalization issues

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of Urban Logistics Spaces (ULS) in Barranquilla, Colombia, with the aim of defining a typology in port cities in developing countries and examining the relevance of using a specific typology for those cities or having a unique and general typology, for any city in the world. Firstly, the background to the research is presented. Then, the methodology for the characterization of urban facilities and the definition of the typology is presented. A qualitative characterization was carried out through semi-structured interviews, in order to understand the specificities of the ULS located in Barranquilla, and to analyses how the logistic spaces that are not yet in that context could improve the city's logistic system. The data collection was carried out with the participation of nine (9) actors belonging to the logistic system of the city of Barranquilla. The results show that the "standard" typology chosen, typical of the European context, is partially recognized by the professionals of Barranquilla, and therefore the identification of other types of ULS currently operating in the Colombian context was obtained. Consequently, it is necessary to standardize the typology of urban logistic spaces and to deepen the analyses to define a general typology, which would be reduced in relation to the type of city, but which would have a unified general base capable of being later adapted to any city.