An interview with Prof. Krzysztof Chwesiuk, PhD, Eng., from the Maritime University of Szczecin.
Iwo Nowak: With the rapid development of logistics as such, the concept of urban logistics has begun to appear more and more frequently…
Prof. Krzysztof Chwesiuk: Urban logistics is a relatively new concept, even though it deals with solving problems that have existed since the beginnings of settlement. The theoretical foundations of the knowledge that is urban logistics are not yet sufficiently developed and shaped, which is why it cannot constitute a separate scientific discipline. However, it has been the subject of many definitions and concepts that bring us closer to systematizing knowledge in the field of logistics and enabling its application to such a multifunctional organization as a city.
I. N.: Where should the direct sources of urban logistics be sought?
Prof. K. Ch.: The initial inductor of urban logistics was trade logistics, or more precisely, distribution logistics in the system of goods delivery to retail chains in city centers. Even today, this problem has not lost its importance, although retail markets located on the outskirts of cities with great transport convenience, as well as some forms of direct trade and the use of electronic purchasing media, partially alleviate the burdens of this inner-city delivery logistics. The concept of urban logistics grows on the basis of known and unshakable logistical principles such as: coordination of activities, a systemic approach, orientation towards flows, and looking through the prism of the whole. It therefore constitutes a tool for solving problems of the functioning of urbanized areas, such as urban agglomerations. The city, as an organization with many areas of activity, provides urban logistics with the subject of its research in the scope of water, gas, electricity, and heat supply, the organization of urban and suburban passenger transport and freight (delivery) transport, taking into account storage processes, the issue of municipal waste removal and disposal and sewage treatment, the organization of the telecommunications network, and the shaping of transport connections of the agglomeration with the logistics system of the region, the country, or even the global system.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2006.