On the occasion of Transpotec Logitec, the event organized by fair Milano and dedicated to the world of transport and logistics, the conference “Planning logistics facilities: Regions and operators speak out”, moderated by Morena Pivetti.
They took part in the meeting Marco Clerici, Head of Research & Advisory at WCG, Sabine Hutter, VP, Capital Deployment of Prologis and representative of the Logistics Table of Confindustria Assoimmobiliare, Fabrizio Dallari, Director of i-LOG – Center for Logistics and Supply Chain of LIUC University, Irene Priolo, Councillor for the Environment, Territorial Planning, Mobility and Transport, Infrastructure of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Claudia Maria Terzi, Councilor for Infrastructure and Public Works of the Lombardy Region.
The conference is part of a growing interest in urban planning related to logistics, as confirmed by the moderator, Morena Pivetti, who declared: “During the year, the General Assembly of Logistics of the Northwest Region will be held—organized by the Liguria Region—and the General Assembly of Logistics of the Northeast Region will be held—organized by Emilia-Romagna. It would be very useful if, on these two occasions, the topic of logistics facilities, their current location, and their future planning and programming were a central focus of discussion and debate. This is also in light of the launch of the Special Logistics Zones.
“The growth of logistics poses a question that today is first and foremost a question of territorial governance: we cannot limit ourselves to chasing market dynamics, we must begin to orient them - he stressed Irene Priolo, Councilor for the Environment, Territorial Planning, Mobility and Transport, and Infrastructure of the Emilia-Romagna Region – In Emilia-Romagna, we recently passed a law on airports and logistics, establishing, among other things, a permanent roundtable on sustainable logistics, a tool that will allow us to build a shared vision with institutions and operators. At the same time, we are working to strengthen the system: from the Simplified Logistics Zone to the role of the ER.IC cluster, and the decision by several major logistics operators to create a network, ROLER, which marks a step change in collaboration between hubs, ports, and rail operators and will be open to new partners. This will be complemented by upcoming changes to urban planning regulations and those related to the new PRIT, the Regional Transport Plan. The direction is clear: less dispersion, more integration, more intermodality. The challenge is to build, step by step, a more selective and sustainable logistics system, capable of integrating within a territorial strategy rather than outside it.
In support of this commitment, WCG has contributed to the debate by bringing the issue of geography of Italian logistics and the territorial planning of logistics settlements.
The comparison highlighted the increasingly central role of the logistics asset class in the investment landscape of the Commercial Real Estate in Italy. In first quarter of the year, compared to total investments of 2,5 billion eurosThe logistics sector attracted over 15% of the total, recording a take-up of approximately 800.000 square meters. This figure adds to the 2,3 million square meters recorded in 2025, the year in which the total volume of investments in commercial real estate reached 12,1 billion euros, of which 2,23 billion related to the logistics sector.
The theme takes on particular relevance also in light of the Lombardy Regional Law 8 August n.15, which provides for the identification, by provincial bodies, of logistical areas of supra-municipal interest suitable for hosting new settlements above certain size thresholds.
Starting from this need, WCG has developed an interactive and detailed geographic mapping: theAtlante della Logistica – whose data relating to the Milan Logistics Region were presented during the event by Professor Fabrizio Dallari.
Since 2010, LIUC Cattaneo University has been studying the Italian warehouse sector through the Logistics Real Estate Observatory (OSIL). Every year, we update the mapping of logistics properties in the so-called "Milan Logistics Region," which includes over 1.400 warehouses totaling approximately 20 million square meters of covered space. Thanks to the Observatory, public and private stakeholders can access an up-to-date snapshot of the real estate situation, which is also useful for land-use planning purposes. said Fabrizio Dallari, Director of i‑LOG – Center for Logistics and Supply Chain, LIUC University.
Focusing on the study of WCG, the analysis allowed us to identify different levels of territorial suitability for logistical use, defined on the basis of parameters of accessibility, environmental fragility, economic aspects and social factors.
“The analysis work led to the identification of a reading grid of the Italian territory divided into 9 Logistic Regions, divided into 68 Logistic Areas and 161 Logistic Sub-Areas - declares Marco Clerici, Head of Research & Advisory at WCG It's interesting to note that 2.065 Italian municipalities are eligible to host logistics activities, while nearly 6.000 municipalities do not meet the necessary requirements to host real estate developments dedicated to logistics and have been identified as Non-Logistics Zones. This effort, developed over a year ago with the involvement of the sector's main trade associations, has received significant recognition today with the Province of Monza and Brianza's decision to consult these maps during the regulatory compliance process for the Lombardy Regional Law on logistics zones.
