A multi-criteria spatial evaluation framework to optimise the siting of freight consolidation facilities in inner-city areas

Abstract

• Most suitable locations for an inner-city freight consolidation facility are in zones that offer excellent accessibility to major roads and goods receivers particularly in affordable industrial land in the study area. • Although transport-related decision criteria are critical in determining the suitability of the facility location, freight land use-related factors also influence the operational environments and suitability of the location. • The study findings highlight the challenges of identifying optimal location for the facility in the inner-city area as adjoining zones display completely different values of the decision criteria. Location analysis for a consolidation facility is a multi-criteria challenge, compounded by spatial constraints in real-world scenarios such as those found in inner-city areas. However, most decision support models in location studies of consolidation facilities are limited to numerical computation or multi-criteria analysis while ignoring spatial factors in location selection. This study aims to characterise suitable locations for an inner-city consolidation facility based on spatial aspects, operational requirements, and societal concerns. Accordingly, this study presents an integrated spatial multi-criteria location framework to identify and rank optimal sites for a proposed freight consolidation facility in an inner-city area using 11 decision criteria identified from key stakeholders. Real geographic data from Inner Melbourne, Australia, are used to identify 20 candidate sites which are then evaluated and ranked using the TOPSIS method. The suitability analysis confirms that the most suitable locations are in zones with affordable industrial land with excellent accessibility to major roads and goods receivers. Sensitivity analysis indicates that assigning more significance to the operational requirements and decreasing the priority weight for proximity to residential areas tip favourability towards areas with low real estate costs and more industrially-zoned parts. The multi-criteria spatial modelling allows decision-makers and transport researchers to apply value-decisions at the onset of the process, and it also allows for improved understanding and visualisation of the results and of the significance of the chosen criteria in the evaluation process.