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Logistics of Zoning, Zoning for Logistics: Toward Healthy and Equitable Development for Urban Freight

 
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Publication: Journal of the American Planning Association
Pages: 1-18
Publication Date: 2025
Summary:

As warehousing and distribution centers (W&D) rapidly expand, nearby communities, especially those that have been historically marginalized, face growing health risks from increased freight traffic. This research examines how local and state zoning decisions across the U.S. influence the placement and regulation of W&D facilities, and whether those actions consider environmental justice (EJ) principles.

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Warehousing and distribution center (W&D) expansion has raised concerns about the disproportionate exposure of nearby communities to freight traffic and its resulting health consequences. While local governments wield several tools to manage logistics-related development, few may be as consequential to public health disparities as zoning. In this study we synthesized the state of recent U.S. zoning actions related to W&D, examining their role as tools—or barriers—for advancing public health in communities historically burdened by freight traffic. Specifically, we investigated 92zoning actions at 67 locations (51 municipalities, 9 counties, and 7 states) and assessed the level at which environmental justice (EJ) principles informed these actions. The most common zoning actions were discretionary decisions on site permits (n ¼ 32). While we offer examples of councils considering EJ issues raised by communities, discretionary processes have drawbacks. Other actions include long-term plans (n ¼ 17), land use definitions (n ¼ 13), development standards (n ¼ 12), and conditional use permitting (n ¼ 14). We also examined four state-level policies. Many regulations restrict by-right W&D development with little indication that these changes are intended to benefit historically burdened communities.

Takeaway for practice: Local jurisdictions lack a unified regulatory approach to W&D. However, long-term plans and state environmental policies guide jurisdictions with the most EJ-explicit actions. Equitable and healthy urban freight requires clear strategic land use priorities and environmental safeguards for vulnerable communities but could also include flexibility for W&D development outside conventional industrial areas. We discuss how these findings fit into contemporary debates about zoning and urban freight planning

Authors: Travis FriedDr. Sarah Dennis-BauerDr. Anne GoodchildOliver Olmedo, Carla Tejada, Otgondulam Bolbaatar, Julian D. Marshall, Lizándro García
Recommended Citation:
Fried, T., Tejada, C., Dennis-Bauer, S., Bolbaatar, O., Goodchild, A., Marshall, J. D., … García, L. (2025). Logistics of Zoning, Zoning for Logistics: Toward Healthy and Equitable Development for Urban Freight. Journal of the American Planning Association, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2025.2515134
Student Thesis and Dissertations

A Different Kind of Gentrification: Seattle and its Relationship with Industrial Land

Publication Date: 2019
Summary:

Industry in Seattle often talks about how they are facing their own kind of gentrification. Rising property values, encroaching pressure for different land uses, and choking transportation all loom as reasons for industrial businesses to relocate out of the city. This research explores this phenomenon of industrial gentrification through a case study of Seattle’s most prominent industrial area: the SODO (“South Of Downtown”) neighborhood. My primary research question asks what the perception and reality of the state of industrial land designation and industrial land use gentrification in Seattle is. Secondary research questions involve asking how industrial land designation and industrial land use can be defined in Seattle, what percentage of land is zoned industrial in the SODO neighborhood, and what percentage of the land use is considered industrial in the SODO neighborhood. Finally, subsequent effects on freight transportation and goods movement will be considered. By surveying actual industrial land use compared to industrially-zoned land, one can conclude whether industry’s complaints are accurate and whether attempts to protect industrial land uses are working. Literature details cases that encapsulate the industrial gentrification debate and Seattle has undertaken many studies of its industrial land. Methods involve a case study approach coupled with a field survey. The survey area chosen is the SODO neighborhood, which is part of the locally and regionally-designated Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center. Industrial designation is defined as any of the four types of industrial zoning in the City of Seattle. Industrial land use is defined with the help of the Land Based Classification Standards’ Function dimension, with the following subcategories considered industrial: manufacturing, warehouse, storage yard, marine terminal, railroad, and utility. Results show that over 99% of the study area is designated industrial. After classification of each parcel in the study area, 62% of the study area’s parcels, or 85% of the land area, contain actual industrial land use. When land intensive uses such as marine terminals and railroads are removed from consideration, the percent of industrial land area is only 42%. The conclusion of this study shows that 1) the narrative of industrial gentrification in Seattle is not as universal as initially perceived, 2) being designated as industrial land by zoning is not a surefire way to achieve what some would consider actual industrial land use, 3) actions undertaken by the City in the 2000s—namely increasing the size limits on non-industrial land uses in industrial zoning—have been effective at keeping SODO industrial, and 4) the question of whether Seattle is losing industry and industrial land rests on how one defines and perceives those terms. While much of SODO’s land area is still industrial, market forces and trends are drawing more non-traditional land uses to SODO, such as boutique manufacturing, breweries and distilleries, event venues, and commercial offices and retail stores. Examples are prominent and give the perception of industrial loss even if, technically, much of SODO is still designated industrial.

Recommended Citation:
Tomporowski, David (2019). A Different Kind of Gentrification: Seattle and its Relationship with Industrial Land. University of Washington Master's Degree Thesis.
Thesis: Array