Financing urban logistics projects. From public utility to public-private partnerships

Urban goods movement and urban logistics started to be defined as a scientific discipline 20 years ago, where several actions in research, development, policy and deployment were started to be coordinated. However, most of the innovations and projects presented in that field are stopped or reduced because of a common constraint that becomes its worst enemy: the financing mechanisms. Although many studies deal with urban logistics, only a few of them show the difficulties at financing, but without entering in detail on the financing mechanisms. This chapter aims to present the main financing issues in urban logistics. First, the main categories of funding strategies that can be applied to urban logistics are presented, focusing on public-private interactions and collaborations. After that, a scenario assessment using a cost benefit analysis framework shows the different interests and issues of each category of stakeholders, and the main advantages and limits of each category of investment and financing strategies. Then, the fields of urban logistics that seem the most adapted to public-private collaboration in terms of financing are identified and commented. As a conclusion, guidelines for researchers and practitioners to take into account financing issues in urban logistics decision support are proposed.