Anagrafe della ricerca

Within the social sciences and public debates, the Covid-19 pandemic has catalysed attention on its geographical diffusion and impact on selected sectors. Less is known on how it affected the multilevel spatialities of logistics and how the latter intertwines with the transition that awaits cities and regions. Initial contributions on the matter were developed within the emerging literature on ‘operational landscapes’, for which logistics activities are necessary to the functioning of cities and regions, while generating selected negative impacts (on liveability, congestion, health etc.). To shed light on the matter, the research analyses the geography of the territories of logistics in Italy, how they have been impacted by the pandemic and how they are planning their post-pandemic future. More in detail, it addresses three main aspects: The uneven geographies of logistics. The pandemic had an uneven impact on Italian regions, spreading from and hitting more severely highly exploited territories such as manufacturing districts and logistics hubs. It caused asymmetric effects, which were path-dependent on peculiar specialisations, socioeconomic vulnerability and spatial marginality, in so doing exacerbating existing inequalities. The project maps these phenomena in the country and develops a typology of the Italian territories of logistics. The governance of the post-pandemic transition of logistics. Logistics is high on the agenda of regions and companies, even more so in relation to the role it can play in the post-pandemic transition. Also the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), launched within the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility and aimed at paving the way for long-term economic recovery, is characterised by a marked focus on logistics. However, the topic is approached in rather sectoral terms, disregarding socio-spatial and local governance implications. Through selected case studies, the project explores the local implication of the pandemic and the governance mechanisms through which local actors attempt to reconcile supralocal policies and the peculiar nature of their territories. The development of place-based policies. The project develops guidance concerning the case study territories and their governance dynamics. The results will also be analysed in relation to their relevance to other territories of logistics in Italy and in Europe. Finally, the collected evidence will inform the development of supralocal policies that approach the issue of logistics through a place-based approach. Overall, while geographical focusing on the Italian context, due to the strong relevance of the issues at stake for most European countries, the result of the research will provide a timely contribution to the international scientific and policy debate on the post-pandemic transition of the territories of logistics and, more in general, to the emerging literature on the operation landscapes.