by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Cities are under pressure to clean up their freight emissions. Goods vehicles make up only 10% of urban traffic but account for a quarter of city CO₂ emissions. This is a disproportionate impact that policymakers can no longer ignore. One popular answer is the urban logistics facility: a hub positioned within the city that consolidates …
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 …
Land scarcity near major Dutch cities is becoming a serious challenge for governments, developers, and occupiers—especially for businesses involved in last-mile logistics and local services. These “caring businesses” are essential for maintaining urban life, yet they’re increasingly pushed out by housing development and the repurposing of commercial areas. As urban populations grow and land becomes …
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly central focus in urban mobility and transport planning. In addition to responding to the impacts of climate change, European cities and regions are now also required to align with evolving policy frameworks, such as the revised TEN-T regulation and the broader goals of the European Green Deal. These developments were …
How can cities become cleaner, more efficient, and better connected? Hamburg’s MOVE21 project offers some inspiring answers. In collaboration with the Bezirksamt Altona, the project has developed a Best Practice Manual that examines real-world examples of neighborhood hubs—multifunctional spaces that bring together logistics, mobility, and even social services. Whether placed in existing buildings or public …
The MoLo Hubs guideline report ‘Spatial planning & city design‘ has been published. The report defines considerations and good practices for spatial planning and city design and assists host partners in setting up their pilot. The report distinguishes two levels within the theme ‘spatial planning and city design’. Hubdesign: its appearance (design, materials, and visibility) …
It was impressive to see all the cargo bikes and light electric vehicles gathered in the garage beneath the Passenger Terminal in Amsterdam. Various providers of zero-emission vehicles came together for a ‘Meet & Match‘ event, connecting with potential users—entrepreneurs from construction, installation technology, and other facility and technical service industries. This event is a …
A recent paper evaluates the impact of using electric vehicles for urban service trips, explicitly focusing on delivery and installation services and reverse logistics. These aspects of commercial traffic in urban areas have been under-explored. Most recent research on commercial traffic addresses shop restocking, service visits to establishments, and e-commerce deliveries but has paid little …
CRP has launched the Urban Logistics Hub Map, an online tool showcasing sites that could be potentially used for urban logistics. This tool has been developed from the 2020 study commissioned by the Central London Sub Regional Transport Partnership, which investigated the requirements that a logistics operator would need for a micro hub and the availability of underutilized space …
Genuine innovations in city logistics are about sharing. Sharing capacities, vehicles, data, energy, and people. That should start happening in zero-emission city hubs, local neighborhood hubs, and with waterborne transport. Simple, right? But, those innovations often stumble over the distribution of joys and burdens. The public-private revenue models behind them are not obvious (and profitable). …