Urban food hubs are critical nodes for food access, freight distribution, employment, and public-space activity. Yet in many cities in the Global South, their operation depends on the coexistence and interaction between formal marketplace logistics and informal vending practices. This study examines how two major food-market districts in MedellÃn, Colombia—Plaza Mayorista, the main wholesale hub, and Plaza Minorista, the main retail hub—function as nodes where formal and informal urban logistics overlap. A mixed-methods approach was used. For the formal sector, structured surveys were conducted with establishments operating in both hubs to characterize freight flows, supply origins, delivery schedules, vehicle types, unloading practices, and logistics organization. For the informal sector, 330 surveys were collected from street vendors located inside, around, and beyond marketplace areas to examine sociodemographic conditions, sales dynamics, sourcing, transport modes, storage practices, and relocation preferences. Both surveys were conducted in January–February 2019 . The study defines formal–informal logistics interaction through four dimensions: spatial co-location, supply dependence, temporal overlap, and shared or competing use of infrastructure and public space. Results show that both food hubs are major freight trip generators, with strong regional supply linkages, concentrated early-morning delivery activity, and intensive unloading operations. Informal vendors also follow early-morning sourcing patterns and rely heavily on walking, handcarts, shared storage, and strategic proximity to formal marketplaces, especially Plaza Minorista. However, marketplace dependence is not universal, as many vendors also source from other locations. Informal vendors play an essential role in the urban food system by improving food access and supporting livelihoods, but they operate under precarious working and mobility conditions. Only a minority expressed willingness to relocate, with location and security identified as the most important conditions. The findings suggest that food-market districts should be treated as mixed-logistics environments in which freight vehicles, informal vendors, pedestrians, handcarts, and public-space uses interact. The MedellÃn case provides case-based evidence to inform integrated marketplace and transport policies that address freight management, unloading operations, cart storage, curb and sidewalk use, vendor relocation, and food access as interconnected issues rather than separate enforcement problems. © 2026 The Author(s).
