Category «Research»

Driverless Multipurpose Vehicles: A New Frontier in Urban Logistics Efficiency

As urban freight volumes increase and sustainability pressures intensify, cities are exploring innovative solutions to mitigate the environmental impact of transportation. One emerging concept is the Driverless Multipurpose Vehicle (DMV)—an autonomous, electric heavy-duty vehicle capable of switching between transport applications or combining them during a single operation. But how do these modular vehicles compare to …

Towards Sustainable Urban Freight in B2B: Insights from Berlin-Adlershof

As cities grow and freight volumes rise, urban logistics faces mounting challenges, from traffic congestion and emissions to inefficient deliveries. A recent study in Berlin-Adlershof, a technology-driven urban development area, explores how data-driven insights into corporate shipping and receiving behavior can support more sustainable freight transport. Why Focus on Business Parcels? Most research in urban …

AI and Co-Creation: Building Smarter Urban Logistics Alternatives

Urban areas are growing rapidly, and with them come familiar challenges: air and noise pollution, traffic congestion, parking shortages, and safety concerns. In this context, freight transport has become increasingly fragmented due to e-commerce, and as a result, it lacks coordination across supply chains. To address these challenges, a new study presents a co-creation-based decision …

Platform Work in Germany Still Falls Short on Fairness, New Report Finds

Platform work has become deeply embedded in everyday life in Germany. Whether it’s ordering groceries via Flink, hailing a ride with Uber, or hiring a cleaner through Helpling, millions rely on digital platforms for convenience. Yet, behind this convenience lies a growing concern: the workers powering these services often lack basic labour protections. The Fairwork …

Sustainable Neighborhood Logistics: Business Models for Urban Hubs

As cities grow denser and online shopping continues to rise, the demand for efficient logistics is increasing rapidly. Urban space is limited, and logistics hubs offer a promising solution: they consolidate goods and enable zero-emission transport into city centers. Some hubs also support shared mobility. To explore viable models, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences …

Creating Synergies Between Energy and Mobility

The energy and mobility sectors are increasingly interlinked, offering new opportunities for synergies in infrastructure use. However, the governance processes that underlie such cross-sectoral innovation are often overlooked. This case study examines the intricate decision-making process behind the development of an E-PT-hub. This initiative, undertaken by a Dutch public transport operator, aims to repurpose its metro power …

Urbanization and the Imperative of Public Space: A Global Perspective

Many cities around the world are missing out on significant development opportunities by ignoring, underutilizing, or mismanaging their public-space assets. Yet there is enormous potential to use these spaces more strategically and to unlock the hidden value they generate for communities, neighborhoods, and cities as a whole. The World Bank’s report, The Hidden Wealth of …

Rethinking City Logistics: Sustainable Consolidation in Industrial Areas

When discussing urban logistics, the focus often lies on parcel deliveries to consumers—a trend that the rise of e-commerce has amplified. Yet, cities are also home to industrial zones with manufacturers and producers who have very different logistics needs. These areas depend on the timely delivery of bulky, perishable, or production-critical goods. Despite their importance, …

Rethinking passenger-vehicle coordination in urban mobility

In the age of smart urban mobility and AI-driven ride-hailing platforms, it’s easy to assume that more technology means better performance. But new research reveals a surprising insight: in some urban environments, old-fashioned, low-tech transport modes can outperform their high-tech counterparts—simply because they’re easier to coordinate. At the heart of this finding is a fresh …