A Novel Heuristic Approach for Simplifying Urban Risk Zones in Distribution Route Planning
Urban logistics operations are increasingly affected by traffic accidents and criminal incidents that may compromise transportation efficiency and operational safety. This study proposes a geometric heuristic framework for incorporating urban risk structures into a Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). The methodology combines georeferenced accident and robbery records, spatial clustering, overlap analysis, transformation of irregular conflict regions into circular risk zones, and a secant-based mechanism for evaluating route exposure to risk. The resulting zones are integrated into the routing model through a multiplicative penalty structure that balances transportation cost and risk avoidance. The framework was evaluated using real-world data from Irapuato, Mexico, including accident and crime records collected between 2020 and 2025 and a distribution network of 97 customers. Results show that the proposed methodology successfully identifies urban conflict structures and incorporates them into routing decisions. Sensitivity analysis revealed a clear trade-off between routing efficiency and risk exposure, reducing conflict-zone crossings from six to zero with a moderate increase in routing cost. The findings demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed geometric heuristic for risk-aware urban logistics planning.
Keywords: Vehicle Routing Problem, Urban Risk, Spatial Clustering, Geometric Heuristics, Risk-Aware Logistics.
;)
