The Netherlands is facing increasing pressure on scarce urban space and the capacity of multimodal hubs, while demand for logistics real estate continues to grow. Congestion, housing for migrant workers, emissions, and other impacts have generated growing societal resistance and undermined the sector’s license to operate. This project develops a paradigm in which, rather than focusing on expansion, societal value per square meter becomes the guiding principle. The aim is to develop a data-driven instrument and policy frameworks to identify locations where logistics activities can generate the highest societal added value, in line with the Top Sector Logistics themes “Scarcity of Space” and “Labour Market Shortages".
To achieve this goal, we are working together with a diverse consortium comprising, among others, the academic partners Tilburg University and Erasmus UPT, as well as Midpoint Brabant, DILAS, the Dutch Industrial & Logistics Association, the Municipality of Waalwijk, the Municipality of Tilburg, Logistics Valley Rivierenland, Jan van den Hogen, Q-Park Nederland, and Schiphol Area Development Company N.V. We also maintain close contacts with, among others, the College of Government Advisors (College van Rijksbouwmeester en Rijksadviseurs), national ministries, and provincial authorities. In addition to the consortium, SPACE2VALUE is made possible by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management through TKI DINALOG / Top Sector Logistics.