Policy-associated spatial reorganization of logistics facilities and changes in facility–network accessibility in Beijing, China

Urban logistics facilities respond to both market conditions and public regulation, yet policy-associated spatial adjustment is difficult to distinguish empirically from broader market-driven decentralization. Beijing provides a relevant case because its policy to relieve non-capital functions explicitly restricted regional logistics facilities in inner areas while promoting logistics development in peripheral areas. Using contemporaneously archived AMAP point-of-interest datasets for 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, together with an additional 2012 logistics-center observation for the DID panel, this study combines descriptive spatial analysis, a grid-level two-way fixed-effects difference-in-differences (TWFE-DID) design, and facility–network accessibility measures to examine the spatial reorganization of logistics centers and distribution centers. The observed distribution of logistics centers shifted outward and became more dispersed, whereas distribution centers showed no comparable citywide outward shift. The main TWFE-DID estimate was 0.282 ( p = 0.024), indicating a stronger grid-level logistics-center shrinkage differential within the Fourth Ring Road than in the R4–R6 comparison area during the concentrated-implementation phase. The positive differential remained when the R5–R6 peripheral receiving belt was excluded from the comparison area (0.442, p = 0.007). No statistically detectable expansion was identified for distribution centers in the planned peripheral logistics-development zone between the Fifth and Sixth Ring Roads. Changes in transportation accessibility also differed by facility type: logistics centers became more closely aligned with highway infrastructure, while distribution centers remained more closely connected to urban roads. The results provide reduced-form evidence of policy-associated inner-area contraction and show that spatial and accessibility changes differed systematically between facility types.