The purpose of this presentation is to address a concern that has been with me for a long time regarding the ambiguity of concepts underlying city logistics. This ambiguity not only complicates work with practitioners (for example, city representatives) or students, but also introduces a great deal of confusion into epistemological or ordering considerations. Even the metalanguage of logistics (assuming one exists) does not facilitate a convergence of positions on fundamental concepts. Furthermore, it is highly disturbing to see a number of publications in this field appearing in Poland that violate the principle of scientific integrity regarding the continuity of research. Hence, I would like to signal several ontological problems, encouraging discussion.
City logistics – nomenclature
It has been customary for some time to call city logistics “logistyka miejska” (urban logistics). This name was once criticized by Prof. B. Rzeczyński in the journal “Logistyka” in 2002, who suggests that the correct name should be “logistyka w mieście” (logistics in the city). The translation of city logistics for many authors boils down to debating whether “city” means only the city or the city center. Following this line of reasoning, the scope of logistics application is attributed exclusively to cities or their centers. Meanwhile, in English-language publications, we increasingly encounter the term Urban logistics – thus, logistics of the city, and not exclusively (or with great emphasis on) its center. Why do I consider the issue of the name important? Because it indirectly suggests (or describes) the scope of application and the subject of study of this branch of logistics, unnecessarily limiting it. Both in the space of public life and in individual contacts, we too often use words that evoke associations rather than introducing us into the sphere of meanings. This obvious deficit must be eliminated in the metalanguage of logistics. Hence my proposal to discuss one or alternative names for city logistics that capture its essence. For my part, I propose the name “logistyka miasta” (city logistics).
City logistics – scope of application
A word creates reality, identity, especially in a situation where it is primary (in the process of cognition) in relation to the described phenomenon. Hence, the use of the adjective “urban” or the noun “city” imposes formal limitations on the object studied by city logistics. Let us look at the effect that “city”, being a component of the name, can have on the subject under study. Since “urban logistics” is supposed to concern a city, it does not apply to settlement units that do not meet the characteristics of a city – that is, in Polish conditions, they do not have city rights (formal criterion), but in the case of Cuba, I can apply this logistics to units that, in Polish conditions, are probably not even villages – because a city according to Cuban standards must have at least two streets with numbered properties. Going further in the considerations – if one were to narrow city logistics to the center (the so-called city), then for formal reasons I could not apply it in cities that do not have an official center (for example, Tychy in Silesia did not have a center until recently). Moreover, not every center (formal or otherwise) has problems related, for example, to an exceptionally high accumulation of flows. Why can I not apply the principles of city logistics to a large village? Probably because it is not a city – that is, it does not have a culture-forming function, and most of its inhabitants have agricultural sources of income. Should one reason in this way? Definitions of a city usually expose the fact of a relatively constant concentration of population in a small space, the non-agricultural nature of activity, and the culture-forming contribution of the population. Meanwhile, it is precisely space that objectively causes the need to overcome it (for various purposes), thus requiring the organization and implementation of transport activities, and the movement itself is the cause of many troubles, both for organizers, moving people or cargo, and the environment. I propose to look at the city through the prism of a slightly different definition. A city understood as a common space belonging to the community inhabiting it, entitled to guarantee conditions for its political, social, and ecological fulfillment, while simultaneously assuming the obligation of solidarity of its inhabitants.
The article comes from the journal “Logistyka” 3/2008.