Exploring the Relationship Between Urban Vehicle Access Regulations and Loading Zone Management: An Exploratory Typology Across Selected Global Cities

Urban freight externalities are increasingly addressed through regulation policies targeting both vehicle access and loading zones management. While urban vehicle access regulations and loading and unloading zone management are widely applied, existing research has largely regarded them as separate policy domains, overlooking their potential interdependence within urban freight governance. This study develops an exploratory comparative typology of UVARs and loading zone management across selected global cities. A hierarchical clustering method was applied to a harmonized set of indicators to identify distinct urban freight governance typologies. The UVAR clustering analysis was conducted on 39 cities with freight-related UVARs, while the loading zone clustering analysis was conducted on 39 cities with formal loading management zones. The cross-analysis suggests some co-occurrence patterns between UVARs and loading zone typologies. But the chi-square test does not provide statistical evidence of dependence. Therefore, this study can be interpreted as an exploratory mapping of regulatory configurations. The findings provide a comparative basis for future research linking urban freight regulatory typologies with environmental, operational, economic, and social performance indicators.