RESEARCH ARTICLE

 

Inclusion of warehousing and distribution in the Cape functional region's spatial plans

 

Insluiting van pakhuise en verspreiding in die Kaapse Funksionele streek se ruimtelike planne

 

Kenyelletso ea meaho ea polokelo le kabo ea lihlahisoa meralong ea libaka kapa

 

 

Masilonyane Mokhele^I; Brian Fisher-Holloway^II

^IUrban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Informatics and Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, PO Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South Africa. Phone: +27 (0) 21 440 2240, email: mokhelem@cput.ac.za, ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0182-5739
^IIUrban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Informatics and Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, PO Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South Africa. Phone: +27 (0) 21 440 2253, email: bFisherholloway@gmail.com, ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6008-5275

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

Processes of logistics, which facilitate the flow of goods, are crucial in contemporary economies. Largely responsible for the physical distribution component of logistics, warehousing and distribution (W&D) facilities are pertinent to urban and regional planning because they are, inter alia, the most space-extensive component of logistics and supply chain. Despite the importance of logistics, the regulation of the location of logistics facilities has been insufficient because of the poor relationship between logistics planning and urban policy. Using the study area of the Cape functional region, the article aims to analyse the inclusion of W&D in the spatial plans. The study was based on qualitative interviews conducted with nine urban and regional planners as well as content analysis of the applicable spatial development frameworks (SDFs). It was discovered that the SDFs in the region do not sufficiently address W&D. It is, therefore, recommended that policymakers as well as urban and regional planners align policy documents to facilitate the development of W&D facilities. It is also recommended that policy documents be informed by the intricacies of W&D instead of merely being based on broad industrial land use.

Keywords: Logistics, supply chain, spatial development framework, spatial planning, warehousing and distribution, Cape functional region, City of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Drakenstein

---

OPSOMMING

Logistiese prosesse, wat die vloei van goedere vergemaklik, is deurslaggewend in hedendaagse ekonomieë. Grootliks verantwoordelik vir die fisiese verspreidingskomponent van logistiek, is pakhuise en verspreiding (W&D) fasiliteite toepaslik vir stads- en streekbeplanning omdat dit onder andere die mees spasieomvattende-komponent van logistiek en die voorsieningsketting is. Ten spyte van die belangrikheid van logistiek, was die regulering van die ligging van logistieke fasiliteite onvoldoende as gevolg van die swak verhouding tussen logistieke beplanning en stedelike beleid. Die artikel ten doel om die insluiting van W&D in die ruimtelike planne van die Kaapse funksionele streek te ontleed. Die studie is gebaseer op kwalitatiewe onderhoude wat met nege stads- en streekbeplanners gevoer is, asook inhoudsontleding van die toepaslike ruimtelike ontwikkelingsraamwerke (ROR's). Daar is bevind dat die SDF's in die streek nie W&D voldoende aanspreek nie. Dit word dus aanbeveel dat beleidmakers sowel as stads- en streekbeplanners beleidsdokumente in lyn bring om die ontwikkeling van W&D-fasiliteite te fasiliteer. Dit word ook aanbeveel dat beleidsdokumente ingelig word deur die ingewikkeldhede van W&D in plaas daarvan om bloot op breë industriële grondgebruik gebaseer te word.

Sleutelwoorde: Logistiek, voorsienings-ketting, ruimtelike ontwikkelingsraamwerk, ruimtelike beplanning, pakhuise en verspreiding, Kaapse funksionele streek, Kaapstad, Stellenbosch, Drakenstein

---

Mekhoa ea tsamaiso ea thepa, e nolofatsang phallo ea lihlaisoa, e bohlokoa haholo moruong oa sejoale-joale. Kaha meaho ea polokelo le kabo (W&D) li na le boikarabello bo boholo tsamaisong ea lihlahisoa, e bohlokoa therong ea litoropo le libaka hobane har'a tse ling, ke karolo ea phepelo e hlokang tsebeliso e pharalletseng ea mobu kapa tsona libaka. Ho sa tsotellehe bohlokoa ba tsamaiso le kabo ea thepa le lihlaisoa, thlokeho ea likamano pakeng tsa therelo ea thepa le lihlahisoa, le maano a litoropo, e bakile bofokoli taolong ea libaka tsa kabo ena. Ka tsebeliso ea sebaka sa boithuto sa Kapa, sengoloa se ikemiselitse ho sekaseka ho kenyelletsoa ha W&D meralong ea libaka. Boithuto bona bo ne bo ipapisitse le lipuisano tsa boleng tse entsoeng le baetsi ba meralo ea litoropo le libaka tse robong hammoho le tlhahlobo ea meralo e sebetsang ea ntlafatso ea libaka (SDFs). Ho fumanehile hore li-SDF sebakeng sena ha li kenyeletse W&D hantle. Ka hona, ho khothaletsoa hore baetsi ba melaoana hammoho le meralo ea litoropo le libaka ba lokise litokomane tsa maano ho thusa ntlafatso ea meaho ea W&D. Ho boetse ho khothaletsoa hore litokomane tsa maano li eletsoe ke matsapa a W&D ho fapana le ho ipapisa le ts'ebeliso e pharaletseng mobu ea liindasteri.

---

 

 

1. INTRODUCTION

Logistics processes, which facilitate the flow of goods between points of origin and points of consumption (Li, 2014: 1; Verhetsel et al., 2015) are pivotal in contemporary economies characterised by urbanisation, internationalisation, and globalisation. Largely responsible for the physical distribution component of logistics (Hesse & Rodrigue, 2004: 171), warehousing and distribution (W&D) facilities are particularly pertinent to urban and regional planning because they are the most space-extensive component of logistics and supply chain. There is a concern that the growing number of logistics facilities impact profoundly and negatively on urban areas. Major repercussions, which adversely affect the performance and economic competitiveness of cities, include air pollution, noise pollution, and traffic congestion (Taylor, Tseng & Yue, 2005: 1667). Despite the importance and challenges of logistics activities highlighted above, the regulation of the establishment of logistics facilities has been inadequate because of the poor relationship between logistics planning and urban policy (Heitz, Launay & Beziat, 2019: 17; Yuan, 2019: 15). There is similarly a dearth of literature on freight-related land-use policy and planning (Holguin-Veras et al., 2021: 3). Planning practices are essential for the development of logistics facilities because they encompass fundamental location decision-making factors such as land-use policies, job-related policies, financial incentives, and environmental regulations. Institutional influences of logistics facilities' location-choice decisions are, however, rarely considered in the literature. This is notwithstanding the fact that decisions made by institutions regarding land use are influential. Hence, it is crucial that the implications of these decisions are not ignored (Yuan, 2019).

To contribute in part towards filling the knowledge gap above (i.e., on the institutional factors), the article aims to analyse the inclusion of W&D in the spatial plans applicable to the Cape functional region, South Africa.

 

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Growth and ramifications of logistics facilities

W&D is regarded as an integral part of supply-chain management (Vasiliu, 2008; CSCMP, Keller & Keller, 2013: 1; Marchuk, Harmash & Ovdiienko, 2020: 32). Because of the constant improvements to supply-chain processes, warehousing activities, in turn, experience significant transformations, including automation and the improved integration of digital/virtual and physical systems, known as Industry 4.0 (Ma, 2019: 27). The once passive warehousing activities directed at the simple function of product stockpiling now integrates multiple services for customers and handle a multitude of goods at a lower cost (Ma, 2019: 27). Coyle, Bardi and Langley (1996) emphasise that present-day warehousing functions are not necessarily centred around long-term storage. Instead, they provide a fast-paced environment with the aim of speedily and efficiently moving goods through the warehouse facility (Coyle et al., 1996: 248; Mostafa, Hamdy & Alawady, 2019). Although warehouses still encompass the traditional functions of inventory holding and storage, they also act as cross-docking points, where products are moved through the facility without requiring storage; value-added service centres, in which activities such as labelling and pricing commence; production postponement points, where goods are configured or assembled in response to customer demands; returned goods centres, which deal with reverse logistics, and other activities such as service and repair services (Maltz & Dehoratius, 2004: 1-3).

The world is experiencing a rapid growth of logistics facilities, in general, and W&D, in particular. For instance, in the United States of America (USA), the warehousing industry has experienced a substantial boom since the 1990s (Dablanc, Ogilvie & Goodchild, 2014). In 2014, South California, which accommodates one of the biggest concentrations of logistics activity in the USA, had roughly 1.2 billion square feet (111.5 million square metres) of W&D space, of which approximately 90% was occupied. Notably, relative to demand, it is anticipated that, by 2040, South California will have a shortfall of over 527 million square feet (48.9 million square metres) of warehousing space (SCAG, 2016: 53, 55). Gutelius and Theodore (2019) add that, with the continued growth in demand, aggregate employment levels in the USA's warehousing industry will likely continue to increase. Demonstrating the growth of warehousing in a different context, Greenhalgh et al. (2021) discovered that the number of large distribution warehouses in England and Wales grew by approximately 22% between 2010 and 2020. In Africa, the demand for good warehouse space continues to surpass supply across numerous cities. The decline in land supply, coupled with the increasing demand, exerts pressure on land prices that result from competition for the best locations (Knight Frank, 2021: 2). Amid the weak economic climate, demand remains stable for prime warehouse space in South Africa (Knight Frank, 2021: 2).

Logistics activities, including storage and transportation, have been considered to be the most significant source of pollution across supply chains (Piecyk & McKinnon, 2010). The significant adverse environmental impacts of warehousing have, therefore, become a growing concern to many residents in cities (Carrano et al., 2015; Meneghetti, Dal Borgo & Monti, 2015a, 2015b; Zuchowski, 2015; Dadhich et al., 2015; Fahimnia, Sarkis & Eshragh, 2015; Fichtinger et al., 2015; Ries, Grosse & Fichtinger, 2017).

2.2 Planners' perception of logistics facilities

The increasing number of logistics facilities exert tremendous pressure on public policy, which has to address issues pertaining to real estate, vehicular flow, environmental concerns, and parking considerations, among others (Coulombel et al., 2018). These diverse issues show that the placement of logistics facilities is a complex process, which is influenced by various stakeholders, including urban and regional planners. Planners always faced the issue of analysing and addressing the evolution and development of the urban structure (Woudsma et al., 2008: 277). The relationship between transport and land use represents one of the considerations (Woudsma et al., 2008: 277) planners need to analyse, in order to understand the dynamics of cities and regions (Wilson, 2000). Holguin-Veras et al. (2021: 7) asserts that there is a need for better land-use practices, which consider the requirements and impacts of logistics activities, as they have the potential to positively influence the efficiency of supply chains.

McKinnon (1983: 396) notes that urban and regional planners have typically been inclined to view warehousing and logistics facilities, in general, as low-order economic activity, a view that informs the formulation of many policies. As mentioned earlier, land-use policies, inter alia, impact on location decision-making processes. The extent of land parcels, the availability of land, internal and external industrial linkages, and land-use development have played a significant role in influencing decisions on choice of location. Numerous municipalities have responded to this, by implementing land-use planning guidelines such as zoning regulations, which classify warehousing as part of industrial zones (Yuan, 2019: 9-10). McKinnon (1983: 396) argues that warehousing is a perplexing topic among planners. The topic seems to range from being disregarded to incurring opposition. Watts (1977) deems that the general consensus among urban and regional planners is to classify warehousing as an undesirable activity, due to the limited employment opportunities it presents. Yet, it consumes large portions of land, increases vehicular traffic, and commonly displays a visually unpleasant exterior. The aforementioned industrial zoning classification restricts warehousing as an industrial land use and limits the permissions for development and operations. Zoning regulations have inadvertently made it challenging to distinguish warehousing from industrial land uses, a situation that consequently affects the extent of land made available for warehousing facilities. Relatedly, Yuan (2019) consulted an urban and regional planner who expressed a view that there were no explicit policies that focused on the development of warehouses.

Environmental impacts (mentioned in Section 2.1) exert tremendous pressure on urban and regional planners and local authorities (Yuan, 2019: 12-13). Local governments strive to achieve sustainable development and ensure high-quality environments but tend to overlook the impact of warehousing. Some cities have acted to mitigate the impacts, by investigating and implementing new policies such as special zones, where the development of warehousing is prohibited. As noted earlier in this section, many authorities consider warehousing to be a less desirable industrial land use, and neglect to update standards and restrictions that inform the development of warehousing facilities (Yuan, 2019: 13-14).

2.3 Theoretical frame of reference

The article draws on the institutional turn in human geography (Jessop, 2001; Martin, 2000; Wills, 2019: 421), which is based on the argument that the economic landscape cannot be sufficiently understood without considering the influence of institutions. Although institutions are not solely responsible for particular geographical distribution of economic activity (W&D in the context of this article), they can enable or constrain development (Mokhele, 2018: 3). Prior to the advent of the institutional turn, classical location theory largely interpreted economic behaviour as rational and atomistic, while ignoring or assuming that social and political factors were fixed (Jin et al., 2020: 3-4).

 

3. STUDY AREA

The article is based on the study area of the Cape functional region, in the Western Cape province, South Africa. The region comprises three municipalities: City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, Drakenstein local municipality, and Stellenbosch local municipality (Figure 1). It should be acknowledged that the phrase 'Cape functional region' is ambiguous, and there is currently no agreement on the region's geographic scope. Mokhele (2016) notes that derivatives of the Cape functional region include Cape Town hinterland functional region (Donaldson, Ferreira & Spocter, 2012) and Cape Town city-region (OECD, 2008), based on different geographical areas.

 

 

Amid the differences reflected by the above examples, the article defines Cape functional in terms of the three municipalities of City of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and Drakenstein. Specifically, the rationale for this delimitation was informed by particular characteristics that are important for logistics processes. These include the presence of major transportation routes in the area, especially the second-largest container port in South Africa (Port of Cape Town), Cape Town International Airport, national roads and a railway network that transcends the three municipalities. Because of these characteristics, as well as the functional and geographic adjacency of the three municipalities, the Cape functional region was considered an appropriate study area for analysing the inclusion of W&D in the spatial plans. While recognising that the calculation of logistics cost at a subnational level is not common, it is reported that the Western Cape province contributes roughly 17% to South Africa's logistics cost (Havenga et al., 2015: 3), which includes transport costs, warehousing (including storage and handling) costs, inventory carrying costs, as well as management and administration costs (Havenga et al., 2016: 9). Logistics cost in South Africa is higher compared to the so-called developed countries (GAIN Group, 2020: 10). This implies that, if properly planned for, W&D has the potential to contribute towards the reduction of the overall logistics cost.

 

4. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

4.1 Research design

The study employed a mixed-methods design, which combined qualitative and quantitative approaches towards improving the comprehensiveness and validity of research (Schoonenboom & Johnson, 2017: 108, 110). There are four main types of mixed-methods designs, namely triangulation, embedded, explanatory, and exploratory designs (Creswell & Clark, 2006: 59). As the study was predominantly qualitative, embedded design was adopted, wherein quantitative data was embedded within a qualitative methodology (Creswell & Clark, 2006: 67). In this regard, as presented hereunder, the study hinged on content analysis of the spatial development frameworks (SDFs) and interviews conducted with urban and regional planners.

4.2 Sampling

Nine urban and regional planners, who were in the employ of, or had previously worked for the three municipalities in the Cape functional region, participated in the study. The snowball sampling method was used to identify the respondents. The process started with a limited number of respondents and expanded based on the connections provided by the respondents contacted earlier (Neuman, 2001). The rationale for using this method was that planners may have had access to knowledgeable people, who would have been difficult to know without referrals. The selection of urban and regional planners across the three municipal areas was also based on their rank and position occupied within a given municipality. In this regard, senior urban and regional planners and/ or planners with managerial status were contacted. As reiterated later with the discussion of ethics, it should be noted that some of the planners who were identified for the qualitative interviews (particularly from the City of Cape Town and Stellenbosch municipalities) were not available to participate in the research process. Table 1 lists the nine planners who were willing and available to participate.

 

 

4.3 Data collection

The consent of the available nine urban and regional planners was an essential component of the interview process. A consent form was thus formulated to outline the ethical parameters, including the degree of confidentiality and anonymity, and the manner in which the data would be stored. The purpose of the discussion was to inform the respondents of what the interview would encompass and whether they would consent to the interview. The respondents were accordingly required to sign the consent form and agree to the terms prior to the start of the interview.

Guided by the interview guide (see Table 2), the interviews were conducted in November and December 2021, either virtually on the online platform of Microsoft Teams or face-to-face, depending on the preference of each urban and regional planner/respondent. Participation was entirely voluntary and was emphasised in the emails sent to the identified planners for the arrangement of the interviews. In this regard, no potential respondent was coerced into or tricked to participate. Hence, it was decided to proceed with the nine planners, who were voluntarily willing and available to be part of the process.

 

 

If a respondent granted consent for the interview to be recorded, the recording was transcribed afterwards using Adobe Premier Pro. The text file transcriptions had to be evaluated and cross-referenced to the recordings to accurately quote direct speech. For the most part, Adobe Premier Pro transcription was accurate, albeit some wording had to be amended to correlate with the recording.

4.4 Data analysis

Data obtained from the qualitative interviews was cross-referenced with content analysis of the SDFs, conducted in Atlas.ti. The content analysis focused on the following SDFs that were retrieved from the websites of the municipalities in the Cape functional region: City of Cape Town municipality (2018), Drakenstein municipality (2018) and Stellenbosch municipality (2019). Each SDF was independently imported into Atlas.ti and analysed to generate word clouds. The reoccurrence of the most prominent words in each SDF was cross-referenced to the keywords associated with W&D, namely warehousing, logistics, distribution, packaging, courier, transportation, delivery, freight, trucking, as well as movers and removers. The presence of the keywords was then traced to where they were mentioned in the SDFs content to provide context on whether they were linked to W&D. The adoption of these keywords as representative of W&D is supported by the work of Burger (2003: 53-58); Walters (2003: 13-14), and Riopel, Langevin & Campbell (2005: 12-17), who analysed, inter alia, the components of logistics and supply chain.

The analysis above was largely informed by Prior (2011), who asserts that one of the approaches used to analyse policy statements involves counting the number of times certain words appear in a document.

 

5. FINDINGS

Qualitative interviews with urban and regional planners (respondents A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I) confirmed that spatial development frameworks (SDFs) are some of the planning documents that are expected to guide the establishment of W&D facilities in the respective municipal areas. Respondent 'I' asserted that the SDF is the primary document used to facilitate the location of economic activities/land uses, in general, including W&D facilities. The respondents mentioned other important policy documents and instruments, including the integrated development plan (IDP), zoning schemes, land-use planning bylaws, densification policy, urban design policy, integrated economic growth strategy, comprehensive integrated transport plan, arterial management plan, greater Cape metropolitan regional implementation framework, and the distribution cost policy. Qualitative interviews with all the respondents reflected that the general conception among urban and regional planners was that policy documents do not prioritise W&D, and that hardly anything is known on the intricacies of this land use. Only respondent 'I' believed that there was a good connection between the Stellenbosch SDF and the location of W&D facilities in the municipality. Nonetheless, the respondents shared the view that the relationship between spatial planning and logistics activities such as W&D should be improved.

Observations drawn from analysing each municipal SDF suggested that planning for W&D had not been prioritised. Cross-referencing the City of Cape Town, Drakenstein, and Stellenbosch SDFs with the reoccurrence of the W&D-related keywords highlighted the lack of planning for W&D facilities. As discussed in Section 4.4, the keywords were warehousing, logistics, distribution, packaging, courier, transportation, delivery, freight, trucking, as well as movers and removers.

Table 3 illustrates the number of reoccurrences for each keyword across the three municipal SDFs in the Cape functional region.

 

 

As noted in Table 3, the collective number of reoccurrences of the keywords in each SDF document was low. The highest keyword reoccurrence rates were associated with the collective count of transportation and transport. Cross-referencing these to each SDF revealed that the keywords' general use referred to transport frameworks, transport networks, and different modes of transport. The use of the keyword rarely linked to logistics activities, in general, and W&D, in particular. 'Delivery' was the second most used word that could be associated with W&D. However, the use of this keyword predominantly focused on topics such as housing delivery and service delivery. It is noted that the keyword 'logistics' was also more prevalent in the Drakenstein SDF; however, it seemed to focus on logistics routes and hubs, with hardly any mention of W&D.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 identify the most used words in each municipal SDF by enlarging words with the highest reoccurrences in a word cloud format. The most prominent word in each SDF was 'development'. Cross-referencing this keyword to each municipal area's SDF identified that the general use of the term was to name policy documents, development directives, and development types, with minimal mention of W&D facilities. The City of Cape Town's SDF word cloud (Figure 2) highlights words such as development (820 reoccurrences), land (786 reoccurrences), areas (564), spatial (442 reoccurrences), transport (371 reoccurrences), economic (307 reoccurrences), growth (301 reoccurrences), infrastructure (276 reoccurrences), policy (265 reoccurrences), management (227 reoccurrences), planning (212 reoccurrences), residential (207 reoccurrences), investment (197 reoccurrences), and housing (186 reoccurrences). After cross-referencing these words to text in the SDF, the findings show that these words were linked to the overall development priorities and directives of the City of Cape Town municipality. However, it appears that not much attention had been paid to the development and promotion of W&D facilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3, illustrating Drakenstein municipality's SDF word cloud, reflects that the words with the highest rate of reoccurrence included development (623 reoccurrences), spatial (468 reoccurrences), land (322 reoccurrences), areas (218 reoccurrences), vision (188 reoccurrences), housing (158 reoccurrences), management (157 reoccurrences), opportunities (150 reoccurrences), infrastructure (128 reoccurrences), economic (109 reoccurrences), facilities (120 reoccurrences), agricultural (96 reoccurrences), implementation (95 reoccurrences), transport (71 reoccurrences), and industrial (66 reoccurrences). After cross-referencing these words to text in the SDF, the findings show that the words were linked to the Drakenstein municipal area's overall development priorities and directives. However, it appears that hardly any attention had been paid to the development and promotion of W&D facilities.

Figure 4, illustrating Stellenbosch municipality's SDF word cloud, identifies words with the highest rate of reoccurrence, including development (1 274 reoccurrences), land (700 reoccurrences), spatial (504 reoccurrences), areas (494 reoccurrences), planning (356 reoccurrences), housing (284 reoccurrences), agricultural (273 reoccurrences), infrastructure (272 reoccurrences), transport (254 reoccurrences), opportunity (218 reoccurrences), management (210 reoccurrences), economic (206 reoccurrences), growth (203 reoccurrences), facilities (176 reoccurrences), and residential (168 reoccurrences). After cross-referencing these words to text in the SDF, the findings show that the words were linked to the overall development priorities and directives of the Stellenbosch Municipality. However, it is evident that hardly any attention had been paid to the development of W&D facilities.

Although the interviewed urban and regional planners were familiar with the general function of W&D, the connection between planning for W&D facilities and planning policies still represents a grey area. W&D has not been prioritised as an important economic activity/ land use. The SDFs of the City of Cape Town, Drakenstein, and Stellenbosch municipalities rarely mentioned W&D-related words. They rather focused on development directives comprising other land uses such as residential, agriculture, and transport infrastructure.

 

6. SYNTHESIS AND DISCUSSION

As noted in Section 2, urban and regional planning practitioners and scholars have always faced the issue of comprehending and accordingly addressing the development and evolution of the urban structure (Woudsma et al., 2008: 277), wherein one of the most contested scientific challenges is understanding the dynamics of cities and regions (Wilson, 2000). While considering the new pressures exerted on logistics processes by rapidly growing e-commerce, the increasing demand for freight has resulted in an unprecedented expansion of warehousing facilities within metropolitan regions (Yuan, 2018: 1).

Yuan (2019) consulted a planner who argued that there were no explicit warehousing policies that guided the development of warehousing. Qualitative interviews with urban and regional planners from the City of Cape Town, Drakenstein, and Stellenbosch municipalities (respondents A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I) reinforced this argument, as the general consensus among them was that W&D facilities were not exclusively or explicitly considered in policy documents. It is suggested that the lack of knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of W&D facilities disregarded this particular economic activity/land use in policy. Respondent A stated that policy documents tended to place W&D facilities under the umbrella of industrial land use without a clear rationale. In addition, respondent H noted that logistics and warehousing had never been a priority in policy.

It is recognised that times are changing, necessitating that policy documents be reconsidered. The role of planning is becoming ever more prominent in the decision-making processes affecting the development of warehousing facilities. Warehouses have grown in size to accommodate a more extensive inventory and adequate interior space for technological innovations such as automated equipment (Andreoli, Goodchild & Vitasek, 2010). The evolution and growth of logistics activities trends have been largely overlooked and disregarded (Bowen, 2008), even though it is evident that logistics activities such as warehousing and distribution centres (DCs) have been revolutionised. It is contended that the economic importance of W&D facilities is not fully understood.

"I think we tend to think we understand it, but I do not know if we fully understand it. For instance, in our SDF, there is not a detailed study being conducted with regard to warehousing and logistics, so that is why something like what you are doing is coming as an informant to have a better understanding of what the needs are and where you should locate these facilities." (respondent E)

McKinnon (1983: 396) and Watts (1977) state that urban and regional planners have been inclined to view warehousing as an undesirable or low-order economic activity, evidently informing the formulation of numerous policies. Land-use policies, job-related policies, financial incentives, and environmental regulations play an influential role in the decision-making process of warehouse locations (Yuan, 2019: 15). The reason for the change in the geographical patterns and trends is connected to the ever-growing demand for inexpensive land, large open spaces, and the ease of access to major transportation infrastructure. These characteristics are commonly found within suburban and exurban areas (Dablanc et al., 2014: 105). Some cities and municipalities have focused their efforts on creating quality job opportunities, by using policies that promote high-density jobs, but this has indirectly portrayed warehousing as a less desirable land use. Another issue is that many city managers perceive that low-density warehousing correlates with fewer job opportunities (Yuan, 2019: 12). Respondent C suggested that policymakers and planners tend to overlook activities such as W&D because they are not significant job creators. The prioritisation of job creation sometimes clouds judgement on the future benefits activities such as W&D bring to the table, including the influx of supporting facilities catering to W&D facilities. Respondent B advocated that policy decision-making is not a straightforward process, as planning is inseparable from politics. It is suggested that policymakers tend to dictate policy decisions by focusing on agendas such as increased job creation.

All respondents regarded SDF as the overarching framework for guiding the location of W&D facilities. The analysis revealed that the SDFs for the City of Cape Town, Drakenstein and Stellenbosch municipalities did not recognise the complexities of W&D facility development. All three municipal SDFs showed that the provisioning of W&D facility criteria and development directives were limited. It is suggested that this is influenced by the lack of knowledge on the intricacies of warehousing and distribution. SDFs of the three municipalities tended to focus on development directives that cater to other land uses such as residential, agriculture, and transport infrastructure. The presence of keywords associated with W&D facilities, including warehousing, logistics, distribution, packaging, courier, transportation, delivery, freight, trucking, as well as movers and removers, were scarce in each municipal SDF. The City of Cape Town SDF predominantly exhibited the keywords development, land, areas, spatial, transport, economic, growth, infrastructure, policy, management, planning, residential, investment, and housing. The Drakenstein SDF predominantly exhibited the words development, spatial, land, areas, vision, housing, management, opportunities, infrastructure, economic, facilities, agricultural, implementation, transport, and industrial. The Stellenbosch SDF predominantly exhibited the keywords development, land, spatial, areas, planning, housing, agricultural, infrastructure, transport, opportunity, management, economic, growth, facilities, and residential. Although it might seem that some of these words link to W&D facilities, when cross-referencing and navigating these reoccurring words to the actual text within each SDF, it was discovered that they were primarily linked to discussing themes that did not correspond with W&D. It is, therefore, concluded that the relationship between the SDFs and W&D is distorted. The respondents agreed that there was a need to improve the SDFs' cognisance and appreciation of W&D. The majority of the respondents suggested that there was a need for a new way of thinking when making policy decisions to improve planning for W&D facilities. Respondent A suggested that municipal areas could benefit from formulating a policy document stipulating the criteria for W&D facilities, while potentially still keeping it under the umbrella of industrial land use. Respondent B suggested that spatial planning and policy is lacking in refining the grid of numerous types of industrial uses such as W&D. Respondent C suggested that municipal SDFs should be broader in scope. At the same time, local spatial development frameworks (LSDFs) should target specific areas in more depth to facilitate the development of activities such as W&D. The evaluation of emerging land-use trends should be integrated and strengthened between the SDFs, zoning schemes and by-laws. Respondents E and H alluded to the advantages and disadvantages of W&D facilities and recommended that they be studied in-depth to improve the relationship between spatial planning and W&D.

 

7. CONCLUSION

The objective of the article was to analyse the inclusion of W&D in the Cape functional region's SDFs. Based on a combination of content analysis of the SDFs and qualitative interviews conducted with nine urban and regional planners in the region, the study discovered that, although there are principal documents that guide spatial development, SDFs in the region did not sufficiently acknowledge or incorporate guidelines and/or strategies pertaining to W&D.

To improve the much-needed relationship between spatial planning and W&D, it is recommended that:

• Policymakers as well as urban and regional planners align policy documents to facilitate the location of W&D facilities. Although the prioritisation of other land-use categories such as residential, agriculture and transport infrastructure bring great value to each municipality, the advantages of W&D facilities have not been recognised extensively. With the growing locational trends of W&D facilities amid the growth of e-commerce, municipal areas might miss out on or not be prepared for the increasing concentration in the region.

• Policy documents be informed by the intricacies of W&D facilities instead of merely being based on broad industrial land use.

• Policymakers as well as urban and regional planners be capacitated on the importance of W&D and factors that influence the locational patterns of W&D facilities.

To go beyond the analysis of the inclusion of W&D in the spatial plans (in the manner of this article), it is suggested that future research empirically analyse the connection between spatial planning and the locational patterns of W&D facilities within the South African context.

 

REFERENCES

ANDREOLI, D., GOODCHILD, A. & VITASEK, K. 2010. The rise of mega distribution centers and the impact on logistical uncertainty. Transportation Letters, 2(2), pp. 75-88. DOI: 10.3328/TL.2010.02.02.75-88        [ Links ]

BOWEN, J.T. 2008. Moving places: The geography of warehousing in the US. Journal of Transport Geography, 16(6), pp. 379-387. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2008.03.001        [ Links ]

BURGER, F. 2003. The impact of warehousing and transportation optimization on supply chain effectiveness. Unpublished Master's thesis. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.         [ Links ]

CARRANO, A.L., PAZOUR, J., ROY, D. & THORN, B. 2015. Selection of pallet management strategies based on carbon emissions impact. International Journal of Production Economics, 164, pp. 258-270. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2014.09.037        [ Links ]

CITY OF CAPE TOWN MUNICIPALITY. 2018. Municipal Spatial Development Framework, City of Cape Town. City of Cape Town. [Online]. Available at: <http://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Citystrategies,plansandframeworks/CapeTownMetropolitanSpatialDevelopmentFramework_2018-04-25.pdf> [Accessed: 13 June 2021].         [ Links ]

COULOMBEL, N., DABLANC, L., GARDRAT, M. & KONING, M. 2018. The environmental social cost of urban road freight: Evidence from the Paris region. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. Elsevier, 63, pp. 514-532. DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2018.06.002        [ Links ]

COYLE, J.J., BARDI, E.J. & LANGLEY, J. 1996. The management of business logistics. 7^th edition. Mason, Ohio: West Publishing Co.         [ Links ]

CRESWELL, J.W. & CLARK, V.L.P. 2006. Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.         [ Links ]

CSCMP, KELLER, S.B. & KELLER, B.C. 2013. The definitive guide to warehousing: Managing the storage and handling of materials and products in the supply chain. Pearson FT Press. [Online]. Available at: <https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780133448900/samplepages/0133448908.pdf> [Accessed: 12 April 2021].         [ Links ]

DABLANC, L., OGILVIE, S. & GOODCHILD, A. 2014. Logistics sprawl. Transportation Research Record, 2410, pp. 105-112. DOI: 10.3141/2410-12        [ Links ]

DADHICH, P., GENOVESE, A., KUMAR, N. & ACQUAYE, A. 2015. Developing sustainable supply chains in the UK construction industry: A case study, International Journal of Production Economics, 164, pp. 271-284. DOI: 10.1016/j. ijpe.2014.12.012        [ Links ]

DONALDSON, R., FERREIRA, S. & SPOCTER, M. 2012. Growth potential of towns in the Western Cape. Qualitative phase: Unlocking latent potential and recommendations for appropriate interventions for regional development. Cape Town: Western Cape Provincial Government.         [ Links ]

DRAKENSTEIN MUNICIPALITY 2018. Drakenstein Spatial Development Framework. Paarl. [Online]. Available at: <http://www.drakenstein.gov.za/docs/Documents/1c.IDP2018-2019ReviewDRAKENSTEIN2017-2022_final.pdf> [Accessed: 9 April 2021].         [ Links ]

FAHIMNIA, B., SARKIS, J. & ESHRAGH, A. 2015. A tradeoff model for green supply-chain planning: A leanness-versus-greenness analysis. Omega (United Kingdom), 54 (February), pp. 173-190. DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2015.01.014        [ Links ]

FICHTINGER, J., RIES, J, GROSSE, E. & BAKER, P. 2015. Assessing the environmental impact of integrated inventory and warehouse management. International Journal of Production Economics, 170, pp. 717-729. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.06.025.         [ Links ]

GAIN GROUP. 2020. Sector study: Logistics - South Africa. Stellenbosch: GAIN Group.         [ Links ]

GREENHALGH, P., KING, H.M., MULDOON-SMITH, K. & ELLIS, J. 2021. The new distribution: Spatio-temporal analysis of large distribution warehouse premises in England and Wales. Urban Planning, 6(3), pp. 399-414. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i3.4222        [ Links ]

GUTELIUS, B. & THEODORE, N. 2019. The future of warehouse work: Technological change in the U.S. logistics industry. Report from UC Berkeley Labor Center and Working Partnerships USA. [Online]. Available at: <https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/pdf/2019/Future-of-Warehouse-Work.pdf> [Accessed: 12 March 2022].         [ Links ]

HAVENGA, J.H., GOEDHALS-GERBER, L.L., DE BOD, A. & SIMPSON, Z. 2015. Provincial logistics costs in South Africa's Western Cape province: Microcosm of national freight logistics challenges. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 9(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/jtscm.v9i1.206        [ Links ]

HAVENGA, J.H., SIMPSON, Z.P., KING, D., DE BOD, A. & BRAUN, M. 2016. Logistics barometer South Africa 2016. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University.         [ Links ]

HEITZ, A., LAUNAY, P. & BEZIAT, A. 2019. Heterogeneity of logistics facilities: An issue for a better understanding and planning of the location of logistics facilities. European Transport Research Review, 11(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12544-018-0341-5        [ Links ]

HESSE, M. & RODRIGUE, J.P. 2004. The transport geography of logistics and freight distribution. Journal of Transport Geography, 12(3), pp. 171-184. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2003.12.004        [ Links ]

HOLGUIN-VERAS, J., RAMIREZ-RIOS, D., NG, J., WOJTOWICZ, J., HAAKE, D., LAWSON, C.T., CALDERÓN, O. & WANG, C. 2021. Freight-efficient land uses: Methodology, strategies, and tools, Sustainability, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063059        [ Links ]

JESSOP, B. 2001. Institutional re(turns) and the strategic-relational approach. Environment and Planning A, 33, pp. 1213-1235. https://doi.org/10.1068/a32183        [ Links ]

JIN, L., WANG, C., ZHANG, H., YE, Y., DU, Z. & ZHANG, Y. 2020. Evolution and mechanism of the "core-periphery" relationship: Micro-evidence from cross-regional industrial production organization in a fast-developing region in China. Sustainability, 12(1). https://doi:10.3390/su12010189        [ Links ]

KNIGHT FRANK. 2021. Africa logistics and industrial review: H2, 2021. [Online]. Available at: <https://content.knightfrank.com/research/1114/documents/en/africa-logistics-industrial-review-h2-2021-8474.pdf> [Accessed: 12 March 2022].         [ Links ]

LI, X. 2014. Operations management of logistics and supply chain: Issues and directions. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society. DOI: 10.1155/2014/701938        [ Links ]

MA, H. 2019. An industry 4.0 technologies-driven warehouse resource management system. In: Wang, K., Wang, Y., Strandhagen, J.O. & Yu, T. (Eds). Advanced manufacturing and automation VII. Singapore: Springer, pp. 27-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2375-1_4        [ Links ]

MALTZ, B.A. & DEHORATIUS, N. 2004. Warehousing : The evolution continues. Warehousing Education and Research Council, (October), pp. 1-3.         [ Links ]

MARCHUK, V., HARMASH, O. & OVDIIENKO, O. 2020. World trends in warehouse logistics. Electronic Scientific Journal: Intellectualization of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, (2), pp. 32-50. DOI: 10.46783/smart-scm/2020-2-3        [ Links ]

MARTIN, R. 2000. Institutional approaches in economic geography. In: Sheppard, E. & Barnes, T.J. (Eds). A companion to economic geography. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, pp. 77-94. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470693445.ch6        [ Links ]

MCKINNON, A.C. 1983. The development of warehousing in England. Geoforum, 14(4), pp. 389-399. DOI: 10.1016/0016-7185(83)90036-2        [ Links ]

MENEGHETTI, A., DAL BORGO, E. & MONTI, L. 2015a. Decision support optimisation models for design of sustainable automated warehouses. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 7(3), pp. 266-294. DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2015.069127        [ Links ]

MENEGHETTI, A., DAL BORGO, E. & MONTI, L. 2015b. Rack shape and energy-efficient operations in automated storage and retrieval systems. International Journal of Production Research, 53(23), pp. 7090-7103. DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2015.1008107        [ Links ]

MOKHELE, M. 2016. Spatial economic attributes of airport-centric developments in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Unpublished PhD thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University.         [ Links ]

MOKHELE, M. 2018. The volatility of institutional arrangements that influence development: The case of Bram Fischer International Airport in South Africa, The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v14i1.436        [ Links ]

MOSTAFA, N., HAMDY, W. & ALAWADY, H. 2019. Impacts of internet of things on supply chains: A framework for warehousing. Social Sciences, 8(3). DOI: 10.3390/socsci8030084        [ Links ]

NEUMAN, W. 2001. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Boston, New York: Pearson Custom Library.         [ Links ]

OECD (ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT). 2008. OECD territorial reviews: Cape Town, South Africa. Paris: OECD.         [ Links ]

PIECYK, M.I. & MCKINNON, A.C. 2010. Forecasting the carbon footprint of road freight transport in 2020. International Journal of Production Economics, 128(1), pp. 31-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.08.027        [ Links ]

PRIOR, L. 2011. Using documents in social research. In: Silverman, S. (Ed). Qualitative research. Issues of theory, method and practice. London: Sage, pp. 93-110.         [ Links ]

RIES, J.M., GROSSE, E.H. & FICHTINGER, J. 2017. Environmental impact of warehousing: A scenario analysis for the United States. International Journal of Production Research, 55(21), pp. 6485-6499. DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2016.1211342        [ Links ]

RIOPEL, D., LANGEVIN, A. & CAMPBELL, J.F. 2005. The network of logistics decisions. In: Langevin, A. & Riopel, D. (Eds). Logistics systems: design and optimization. New York: Springer, pp. 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-24977-X_1        [ Links ]

SCHOONENBOOM, J. & JOHNSON, R.B. 2017. How to construct a mixed methods research design. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 69(Suppl 2), pp. 107-131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11577-017-0454-1        [ Links ]

SCAG (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS). 2016. The 2016-2040 regional transportation plan/sustainable communities strategy: A plan for mobility, accessibility, sustainability and a high quality of life. [Online]. Available at: <https://scag.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/f2016rtpscs.pdf?1606005557> [Accessed: 12 March 2022].         [ Links ]

STELLENBOSCH MUNICIPALITY. 2019. Stellenbosch Spatial Development Framework. (November). [Online]. Available at: <https://stellenbosch.gov.za/download/stellenbosch-spatial-development-framework-sdf/?wpdmdl=6655&refresh=60a61a18b6c171621498392> [Accessed: 13 May 2021].         [ Links ]

TAYLOR, M.A., TSENG, Y. & YUE, W.L. 2005. The role of transportation in logistics chain. Texila International Journal of Management, 5(1), pp. 1657-1672. DOI: 10.21522/tijmg.2015.05.01.art015        [ Links ]

VASILIU, C. 2008. Warehousing -Activity which contributes to supply chain performance. The Amfiteatru Economic Journal, 10(24), pp. 94-108.         [ Links ]

VERHETSEL, A., KESSELS, R., GOOS, P., ZIJLSTRA, T., BLOMME, N. & CANT, J. 2015. Location of logistics companies: A stated preference study to disentangle the impact of accessibility. Journal of Transport Geography, 42, pp. 110-121. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2014.12.002        [ Links ]

WALTERS, D. 2003. Logistics: An introduction to supply-chain management. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.         [ Links ]

WATTS, D. 1977. The impact of warehouse growth. Planner, 63, pp. 105-107.         [ Links ]

WILLS, J. 2019. The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions. Progress in Human Geography, 43(3), pp. 416-435. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132518768406        [ Links ]

WILSON, A.G. 2000. Complex spatial systems: The modelling foundations of urban and regional analysis. New York: Pearson Education.         [ Links ]

WOUDSMA, C., JENSON, J., KANAROGLOU, P. & MAOH, H. 2008. Logistics land use and the city: A spatial-temporal modeling approach. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 44(2), pp. 277-297. DOI: 10.1016/j.tre.2007.07.006        [ Links ]

YUAN, Q. 2018. Location of warehouses and environmental justice. Journal of Planning Education and Research. DOI: 10.1177/0739456X18786392        [ Links ]

YUAN, Q. 2019. Planning matters: Institutional perspectives on warehousing development and mitigating its negative impacts. Journal of the American Planning Association, 85(4), pp. 525-543. DOI: 10.1080/01944363.2019.1645614        [ Links ]

ZUCHOWSKI, W. 2015. Division of environmentally sustainable solutions in warehouse management and example methods of their evaluation. LogForum, 11(2), pp. 171-182. DOI: 10.17270/J.LOG.2015.2.5        [ Links ]

 

 

Received: January 2022
Peer reviewed and revised: April 2022
Published: June 2022

 

 

* The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article