Sustainable Urban Logistics: Concepts, Methods and Information Systems

This chapter introduces the stakes of urban goods transport integration in city development, through a supply chain and platforms approach. The urban logistics subject is analysed both from the public and private sector point of view. By identifying the structure of present and hypothetical future demand in terms of urban goods movements, various types of logistics platform are suggested as possible solutions for the improvement of goods distribution within urban areas. The chapter ends with recommendations on new forms of organizations, technologies and governance.

Urban logistics is a field that studies the best solutions for urban freight distribution with high environmental objectives. However, most actions are started by public authorities without taking into account the impacts of the new organizational schemas in the existing distribution enterprises’ organization. This chapter proposes a conceptual framework for urban green logistics planning and evaluation, in order to relate urban logistics to green supply chain management, i.e. the public authorities’ perspective to the enterprise’s vision. Therefore, a dashboard is proposed and illustrated, as well as the conceptual framework, via a case study: the urban logistics system Cityporto (Padua, Italy).

Local authorities are slowly beginning to acknowledge the need to consider freight transport in their policy decision making processes and, over the last decade research in the field of urban freight transport has increased. The purpose of this chapter is to present similarities in the way that local authorities from Sweden, the UK, and Baltic Sea Region countries perceive urban freight problems, in order to motivate a more thorough transport planning process. Interviews have been conducted in these countries, and analysed to draw out the factors that influence local authorities and freight operator perceptions of urban freight transport issues. The relationships between local authorities and freight stakeholders are also discussed. Findings from the research show that despite local authorities having begun to acknowledge freight transport more often, the issues faced by the freight industry are still not fully understood. This research is intended to highlight to local authorities the potential benefits of including freight stakeholders in the transport planning process by contributing to a better understanding on how best to approach urban freight stakeholders. The research attempts to encourage more meaningful discussions with key freight stakeholders at an early stage in the transport planning process.

This chapter examines the spatial patterns of freight and logistics activities and the planning and policy issues associated with them, using Los Angeles as a case study. The rapid increase in the number of freight facilities in Los Angeles in recent decades is discussed. An important aspect of the geography of the logistics industry in the Los Angeles metropolitan area is identified: “logistics sprawl”, which is the spatial deconcentration of logistics facilities and distribution centers. Local governments give explicit consideration to logistics activities, especially for the jobs and tax revenues they can generate in a time of economic difficulties. Two cities are examined in detail: one is a traditionally industrial city close to the downtown area, the other is a sprawling community of the “Inland Empire,” east of the L.A. metro area. Both cities tell the story of the seemingly inescapable rise in the importance of the warehousing/logistics industry in the economic life of working class areas, raising questions about the pros and cons of logistics activities for local communities.

This chapter addresses the topic of urban freight data collection. Survey work was carried out with experts in eleven European countries to describe and compare urban freight transport data collection efforts to better understand what currently takes place and to identify examples of good practice. The extent of urban freight data collection varies significantly between the European countries surveyed. Much of the existing urban freight data comes from the disaggregation of national survey results. The chapter identifies the most commonly identified gaps in data collection, as well as the need for greater standardisation in data collection methods and in analysis and reporting of this data.

The chapter analyses characteristics and unique features of the freight system, data requirements of different modeling techniques, and the roles of various data collection procedures. The analyses produce a set of findings of relevance to the design of comprehensive freight data collection frameworks for mid-size and large urban areas. Building on these findings, the chapter identifies a modular data collection framework that would enable transportation agencies to mix and match data collection efforts depending on their needs and constraints.

Nowadays, it is crucial to obtain sound data for establishing diagnoses of urban goods movements (UGM). Since surveys are usually difficult to implement and become very expensive when large amounts of detailed data are required, they are not systematically carried out in various cities around the world. Moreover, unlike individual mobility, public authorities generally do not supervise urban goods transport as they depend essentially on the private sector. The research proposed here focuses on a framework for simulating data production using standard inputs that can be obtained by public authorities (and private stakeholders), in order to estimate the impacts of urban goods transport in the light of current practices, i.e. to make a diagnosis of urban logistics in current configurations. The joint process of collecting data and modelling is described after which the different modules and applications are presented.

This chapter aims to review and present the main combinatorial optimization problems recently introduced in literature, arising in urban logistics, in which distribution systems are involved as well as to make a critical analysis of the economic and environmental advantages obtained by following this kind of approaches. First we present the different categories of systems where, due to geographic or political constraints, there are access limitations to customers’ area for vehicles which do not respect given requirements. Second, the main definitions and characteristics of advanced consolidation systems are presented. Third, the main combinatorial optimization problems associated to such systems are presented, as well as the main heuristics methods to solve them. Finally, to complete this study, a socio-economic analysis based on a set of interviews is proposed.

Time constraints imposed on the accessibility of delivery vehicles to the inner city centre are a commonplace policy in European cities, linked to sustainable mobility strategies and seeking to reduce congestion, parking problems and pollution in the most sensible area of the city. However, these time constraints also impose an extra cost on carriers, who are often forced to modify their routes or use more vehicles, thus reducing the efficiency of the system. We present and apply a VRP-based methodology to estimate these costs, which should be brought into the overall cost-benefit analysis of urban time constraint policies.

In logistics and freight transport, collaboration and pooling are popular strategies, in practice, that remain less explored in research. In recent years, collaborative transportation and pooling have become urban logistics alternatives to classical urban consolidation centres, but remain in a developmental stage. This chapter proposes a framework for urban logistics pooling, strategic planning and ex-ante evaluation. First, the main concepts of logistics pooling and their applications to urban delivery services are presented. Then, an information systems-based framework for planning and evaluation is described, from which a set of indicators are identified. To illustrate this framework, a case study from a French urban logistics pooling system is proposed.

This chapter proposes a general integrated demand modeling system developed within a simulation system to forecast both internal (transportation cost variations) and external (variations of pollution, noise and road accidents) direct effects of city logistics measures. In the first part, the paper considers the shopping and restocking components of urban freight mobility and the relative actor’s choices that can be influenced by city logistics measures. The road simulation system is then considered with its various components, and the demand models are analyzed with particular attention to shopping demand models.

Decision makers in urban goods movement (UGM) typically need to assess the impact new policy interventions might have on freight distribution. The effects of policy changes are inextricably related with the extant regulatory framework that also influences the relationships among the various actors interacting along the supply chain. The operators commonly considered important, given the crucial role they play in UGM, are: retailers, transport providers, and own-account. Notwithstanding the admittedly important role that a detailed knowledge of these three agent categories has for a correct policy implementation there is a limited knowledge concerning the specific preferences and behavior of each agent-type. It is de facto assumed that retailers, own-account and transport providers have homogenous preferences and can be seamlessly treated. The upsurge of behavioral models and the acquisition of data necessary to predict goods and vehicle flows both under the current and, more importantly, under altered policy/regulatory conditions explains the progressive importance that is attributed to an agent-based perspective. This research reports the result of a stated ranking exercise conducted in the Limited Traffic Zone in 2009 in the city center of Rome focusing on retailers which demand freight transport services and play an important role in extended supply chains. This paper proposes a comparison between two different Multinomial Logit model specifications where non-linear effects for the variations of the levels of the attributes considered are studied and detected. A meaningful comparison between willingness to pay measures derived by the two model specifications is proposed so to avoid known scale problems. The results obtained are very interesting and meaningful from a policy perspective since they show potentially differentiated effects of the policy implemented in deep contrast with the, often assumed, homogenous effect hypothesis.

Urban goods movement and urban logistics started to be defined as a scientific discipline 20 years ago, where several actions in research, development, policy and deployment were started to be coordinated. However, most of the innovations and projects presented in that field are stopped or reduced because of a common constraint that becomes its worst enemy: the financing mechanisms. Although many studies deal with urban logistics, only a few of them show the difficulties at financing, but without entering in detail on the financing mechanisms. This chapter aims to present the main financing issues in urban logistics. First, the main categories of funding strategies that can be applied to urban logistics are presented, focusing on public–private interactions and collaborations. After that, a scenario assessment using a cost benefit analysis framework shows the different interests and issues of each category of stakeholders, and the main advantages and limits of each category of investment and financing strategies. Then, the fields of urban logistics that seem the most adapted to public–private collaboration in terms of financing are identified and commented. As a conclusion, guidelines for researchers and practitioners to take into account financing issues in urban logistics decision support are proposed.