by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Most discussions of city logistics focus on getting goods to people. The harder, less glamorous challenge is what happens when those goods reach the end of their useful life. Packaging, electronics, batteries, textiles — the volumes are enormous, growing with every e-commerce surge, and the urban infrastructure to handle them sustainably barely exists. A chapter …
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 …
Urban freight is messy, fast-moving, and politically contentious. Deliveries compete with pedestrians for space, logistics providers compete with each other for efficiency, and city planners are left trying to regulate a system they can barely see. Digital twins (virtual replicas of city systems that can simulate, predict, and advise) are increasingly being positioned as the …
Cities are getting busier, more crowded, and increasingly strained by the consequences of e-commerce growth. According to recent estimates, urban freight traffic already accounts for around 25% of traffic emissions in major European cities and occupies more than 30% of available road capacity during peak hours. Without targeted intervention, these figures risk climbing even further. …
For city logistics professionals, the question of where to focus last-mile investment has long been complicated by conflicting evidence. Do urban consumers drive demand for home delivery, or do rural consumers, who have less access to physical stores, rely on it more? A new study tracking US consumer behavior from 2010 to 2023 provides the …
Imagine a city where delivery trucks no longer clog your streets, where parcels, retail goods, and logistics freight glide silently through underground corridors, arriving on time, every time, without a single exhaust pipe in sight. It sounds futuristic, but a new review published in Smart Cities (2026) suggests this vision is closer to reality than …
As e-commerce continues to reshape urban life, city streets are under growing pressure. Every online order ends with a delivery truck searching for somewhere to stop. A new study published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives offers a rare look at that moment from the driver’s seat. Researchers from Oregon State University and the University of …
Summary of: Kokkinou, A., Quak, H. & Mitas, O. (2026). “Leveraging fairness to nudge consumers towards more sustainable last mile delivery options.” Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 37, 101956. Every time a consumer clicks “next-day delivery,” they make a choice with real urban consequences; more vans, more congestion, more emissions. Getting consumers to voluntarily choose slower, …
As e-commerce volumes grow and decarbonisation pressure intensifies, the question of which last-mile logistics innovations are worth investing in has never been more pressing. A new peer-reviewed study published in the European Transport Research Review offers some of the most structured expert guidance to date — and the findings may surprise both logistics operators and …
Urban freight transport is increasingly at the center of policy and research debates, driven by rising e-commerce demand, urban densification, and the introduction of zero-emission zones across European cities. A recent analysis by the Dutch Kennisinstituut voor Mobiliteitsbeleid (KiM) provides a systematic and evidence-based perspective on one of the most discussed solutions: urban consolidation centers, …