Empirical assessment of land use and other policy impacts on freight facility location choices in California

The rapid expansion of warehousing and logistics activities in California has reshaped land-use patterns and placed substantial pressure on transportation systems and nearby communities. Growth in e-commerce, supply chain restructuring, and regional economic development incentives have contributed to an uneven and largely uncoordinated proliferation of freight facilities. Although these facilities support regional economies, their concentration heightens concerns about congestion, safety, air quality, and the availability of quality job opportunities. Local and regional governments struggle to anticipate these impacts because they lack empirical tools to link policy actions to freight facility siting decisions. This project develops an integrated framework to evaluate how land-use (LU), transportation, and economic development policies influence the location of freight facilities in California, and how these patterns relate to economic and social outcomes. The research compares three regional case studies spanning 20 years, integrating semi-quantitative policy analysis, satellite imagery-based LU classification, and spatial econometric modeling. Expected results include a geospatial database linking freight facility development with LU and policy environments, empirical evidence of policy-driven LU and logistics trends, and indicators describing the social and economic impacts of freight facility proximity. The findings will support state, regional, and local agencies in designing policies that improve goods movement efficiency while minimizing local impacts, thereby contributing to California's economy.

• Record URL:
  • https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/project/empirical-assessment-land-use-and-other-policy-impacts-freight-facility-location-choices

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $20,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DOT 69A3552348319

  DOT 69A3552344814

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Managing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Project Managers:

  Cliff, Sydney

• Performing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Principal Investigators:

  Valencia-Cardenas, Maria

• Start Date: 20260401
• Expected Completion Date: 20270331
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Economic and social factors; Freight handling; Freight traffic; Land use; Location; Warehouses
• Geographic Terms: California
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01989186
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• Contract Numbers: DOT 69A3552348319, DOT 69A3552344814
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: May 14 2026 4:42PM