Urban freight at the micro scale: How the lot–street interface shapes operational regimes and curbside pressure

Urban freight is an urban planning issue because deliveries compete for space on streets and sidewalks, especially in dense and mixed-use areas. However, studies often examine density, land use, and frontage conditions separately, which makes it difficult to connect urban form to practical freight planning decisions. This article addresses that gap through a micro-scale study of Santo André, a medium-sized located in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, Brazil. The method combines administrative records, cadastral information, field surveys, and a freight modeling baseline. The results show that local frontage and sidewalk conditions help explaining how deliveries are organized and where curbside pressure is most likely to occur. Two broad patterns emerge: one associated with larger and more specialized areas, where operations are more concentrated and more easily accommodated on site – "concentrated–volumetric one", and another associated with dense mixed-use areas, where light vehicles, frequent stops, and greater pressure on curb space are more common – "diffuse–intensive one". Overall, the findings show that the lot–street interface is the key point through which urban form shapes freight activity. The study contributes a practical framework for linking urban form to freight behavior at the micro scale. It also shows how simple and observable features of the built environment can support more targeted urban freight and curb management policies.