by Walther Ploos van Amstel
A new study compares how five global cities handle e-commerce deliveries — and finds that context is everything. City logistics keeps growing, and with it, the pressure on urban streets. More parcels, more vans, more congestion, and more urgency for cities to find smarter solutions. But which solutions actually work? A new study published in …
Many cities aim to be fully circular by 2050. That sounds like a promise. But anyone who looks honestly at what is actually happening sees mostly well-intentioned projects that deliver little in practice. Worm hotels in neighborhood gardens. A timber auction of felled city trees. Discounts on shoe repairs via local city passes. Inspiring, yes, …
New York City is in the thick of a landmark policy battle over last-mile delivery regulation. The city administration has officially endorsed a City Council bill that would require e-commerce companies to directly hire and pay delivery workers, drawing fierce opposition from an Amazon-backed coalition. The bill would force companies to directly employ delivery workers, …
Urban Freight at a Crossroads: What the EU’s new Transport Study tells us about the future of city logistics. A new exploratory study commissioned by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) has shed light on one of the most pressing challenges in urban mobility: getting freight smarter, cleaner, and better connected …
If you’ve ever sat through a transport planning meeting, you’ll recognize the pattern. Slides on walking, cycling, public transit, maybe some discussion of electric vehicles, and then, right at the end, almost apologetically: “…and freight.” Dr Daniela Paddeu has spent her career pushing back against exactly that dynamic. As Associate Professor of Sustainable Freight Futures …
Deposits, design, and EPR are the three keys to better material recovery in Europe. A new report by the Coordination and Support Office of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI-CSO) sets out policy recommendations for the upcoming EU Circular Economy Act (CEA). A recurring concern throughout the report is the persistently poor collection performance …
The Dutch Jaarbeurs has won a legal case against the Municipality of Utrecht (NL) concerning the establishment of a zero-emission zone. The area surrounding the event complex is no longer subject to the stringent emission standards applicable to freight traffic. Utrecht introduced a zero-emission zone for delivery vehicles and trucks one year ago. The Jaarbeurs …
Few logistics questions seem more mundane than where to put a parcel locker. Research papers in Urban Logistics Transformation (Springer, 2026) make a compelling case that this is actually one of the most consequential spatial planning decisions a city can make; touching on equity, emissions, local commerce, and the circular economy all at once. Location …
How do we want the ‘liveable city’ to look? And what concrete steps are needed to get there? The delivery van is blocking the pavement. The cargo bike is maneuvering through a narrow alley. The parcel locker is disrupting the streetscape. Familiar scenes in almost every Dutch city. But are these logistics problems or design …
Space is the most contested resource in the modern city. Residential buildings, shops, cycling infrastructure, public green space. They all compete for the same finite stock of urban land. Logistics, which keeps it all functioning, has historically lost that competition and been pushed to the periphery. But a growing body of practice across European cities …