Urban planning as a logistics system
Introduction
In logistics, distribution "Distribution (business)") and transportation planning, last mile mobility, last mile transportation or simply last mile (literally translated from English as last mile), refers to the final journey of transporting people and goods. This last stage corresponds to the distribution from certain nodes to the final destination and is characterized by greater complexity than the rest of the trip due to the exponential increase in the number of possible routes and destinations.[1][2][3].
Last mile mobility is an increasingly studied field due to the increase in the number of consumer deliveries. Among the challenges are increasing efficiency, improving infrastructure or minimizing costs and environmental impact.[4].
History
The term last mile had its origin in the field of telecommunications; It is used to describe the difficulty of connecting home and business networks with the main network.[5] The last leg of cable is only used by one customer, therefore, the cost and amortization of this infrastructure increases compared to those of main networks.[6].
Distribution and transportation networks
Transport via rail networks or ships is usually very efficient. However, once people and goods arrive at a loading station or port, they must be transported to their final destination. This last section is usually much less efficient and can increase the cost by up to more than 50%. This problem includes all types of deliveries in urban areas, which contributes to traffic congestion.[7].
Urban planning itself can improve or worsen the last mile problem. Thus, compact cities have greater public transport efficiency, while diffuse cities, with a lower population density, encourage the use of private vehicles and, therefore, traffic jams and environmental pollution.[8].