Located on France’s Atlantic coast between Nantes and Bordeaux, La Rochelle is making moves to green its urban logistics, aligning with its ambition to become a “Zero Carbon Territory” by 2030. Known historically for maritime trade, the city today leads a metropolitan area of 28 municipalities, home to over 178,000 people and nearly 28,000 businesses. The Port of La Rochelle ranks fifth nationally, handling 8.38 million tonnes of goods in 2024. It’s the leading French port for forestry imports and second for cereal exports. What’s more, the heart of the town is an old quarter, with narrow streets and historic buildings that make it difficult to deliver goods in town. The heart of the town is a protected area, which means that any urban development must be validated by an external third party to ensure architectural coherence.
Greening mobility
Backed by over €80 million in climate investment, including €5 million dedicated to mobility, the La Rochelle Urban Community is working with more than 110 partners from public, private, and academic sectors. The region is rolling out a « Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app, promoting cycling culture, and supporting vulnerable populations and businesses in changing mobility behaviours.
Transport alone accounts for 27% of La Rochelle’s GHG emissions, with one-third from freight, two-third from people. That makes cleaner logistics a definitely priority.
Planning for the long haul
The city’s logistics rethink began in 2017 with the Urbact Freight Tails project. Since then, stakeholder workshops and flow analysis have led to a three-pillar strategy:
- Anticipating land needs for logistics
With population growth and e-commerce surging, space for deliveries is scarce. New microhub locations and last-mile platforms—possibly in nearby towns like Niort and Rochefort—are being explored.
2. Supporting the energy transition
Many businesses are unclear on evolving regulations. The urban community aims to guide and support logistics players in decarbonising their operations, making it a collective journey. The conurbation is setting up workshops bringing together the main local and national logistics players to find practical solutions to their problems.
3. Reorganising city centre deliveries and helping cyclo-logisticians
The goal: balance economic vitality with calm, livable streets. Feedback from transporters, retailers and cyclo-logisticians confirms the need for better delivery coordination and new, flexible solutions.
Delivering differently
Since 2019, La Rochelle has pursued a dedicated strategy: “Delivering in city centres: making way for sustainable solutions”. The plan limits large delivery vehicles in the city centre to cut noise, emissions, and road congestion, while protecting its urban fabric.
Key measures include:
- Time-restricted delivery slots
- Retractable bollards controlling city centre access
- Support for bicycle-based delivery companies, especially for restaurants and retailers (including reverse delivery in cyclologistics)
A public information guide, “Livrer en ville”, was published to help delivery professionals navigate new rules.
A model (for medium-sized cities) in the making?
La Rochelle is turning urban logistics into a laboratory for low-carbon innovation. With clear goals, broad partnerships, and real-world trials, the city is proving that even heritage-rich, historical urban centres can modernise freight delivery—sustainably.