@article{galecka2026impact,
  title = {The Impact of Automated Parcel Lockers on Public Space: A Literature Review Analysis of Benefits and Challenges},
  author = {Wiktoria GALECKA and Wiktor KOLAT},
  year = 2026,
  url = {https://ibimapublishing.com/articles/JEERBE/2026/715731/},
  journal = {Journal of Eastern Europe Research in Business and Economics},
  volume = 2026,
  pages = 9,
  doi = 10.5171/2026.715731,
  abstract = {The rapid expansion of e-commerce has intensified last-mile delivery pressures and generated urban externalities such as congestion, noise, and air pollution. While parcel lockers (PLs) are increasingly deployed as a sustainable alternative to door-to-door delivery, their multifaceted effects on public space, urban accessibility, and governance remain insufficiently synthesized in academic literature. This study addresses this gap by performing a systematic literature review on Scopus and Web of Science databases through September 5, 2025. A total of 184 peer-reviewed articles were analyzed. The findings indicate that strategically sited parcel lockers adjacent to public transport, workplaces, dense retail areas and existing civic infrastructure can reduce courier vehicle-kilometres and CO₂ emissions while enabling parcel collection within routine trips. However, the evidence reveals that environmental gains are highly sensitive to consumer behaviour, as poorly planned locations often lead to oversupply, inequitable access, and a phenomenon described as “public-space invasion”, which may paradoxically encourage private car use for parcel collection. The study concludes that parcel locker effectiveness is contingent on coordinated spatial planning, operator-municipality collaboration and policies that prioritise walkable, multi-modal access. These conditions are essential to ensuring that parcel lockers contribute to, rather than detract from, the quality of urban public spaces.},
  keywords = {parcel lockers, public space, urban logistics, systematic literature review},
  note = Article ID: 715731
}