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Sustainable City Logistics and Urban Freight Transport: Data-Driven and Field-Driven Methods and Applications

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 7852

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jesús González-Feliu

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Guest Editor

CEERIM—Supply Chain, Purchasing and Project Management, Excelia Business School, 17000 La Rochelle Cedex, France
Interests: urban logistics; urban transport management; transport demand forecasting; food logistics; collaborative processes; change and scenario assessment; interactive decision support methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Diana Ramirez-Rios

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Guest Editor

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Interests: freight transportation; disaster response logistics

Dr. Wilfredo Yushimito

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering & Sciences, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Viña del Mar 2520000, Chile
Interests: transportation analytics; freight transportation; logistics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban logistics is a major research field that counts numerous advancements and applications. For the purpose of decarbonation and sustainability purpose, urban logistics has been appointed by both public and private stakeholders as a priority to reduce environmental and social nuisances in cities while not degradating urban economies, or even contributing to their growth. In this context, and although the advances in data production and analysis are considerable, there is still the impression that the lack of data still limits the development of urban logistics policies and solutions. On another hand, theoretical contributions do not always meet practical needs.

The aim of this Special Issue is to promote and systematize the use of data-driven and field-driven research for sustainable urban logistics and urban freight transport. Data-driven approaches, mainly used in assessment, evaluation and decision support, primarily use quantitative data and methods and are defined and organized around the data to be produced. The latter is where the data guide the research, as opposed to the classical optimization or simulation approaches, where data are produced to fit or illustrate a model. Field-driven approaches are, in general, more qualitative and aim to verify or construct theories (mainly via induction or abduction) from collected information in a practical field. However, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to define and characterize fields.

This Special Issue expects papers addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

Data collection, surveying and interviewing in urban logistics;
Expert-based analyses (delphi, focus groups, in-depth interviews) for urban logistics policy;
Theory contribution via case studies;
Freight Trip Generation and demand modelling;
Urban Freight Transport design and modelling from field data;
Quantitative–qualitative combinations for modelling and assessing urban logistics sustainability;
Urban freight transport evaluation.

Prof. Dr. Jesús González-Feliu
Dr. Diana Ramirez-Rios
Dr. Wilfredo Yushimito
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

urban freight transportation
freight demand modelling
urban logistics
data-driven
field-driven
data analytics
policy making

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3064 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Challenges Facing Decarbonization in the E-Commerce Logistics Sector in Latin America

by Daniel Jurburg, Agustina López, Isabella Carli, Mario Chong, Leise Kelli De Oliveira, Laetitia Dablanc, Martín Tanco and Paulo Renato De Sousa

Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15718; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215718 - 8 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1140

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the opportunities related to improvement in the decarbonization strategies of the logistics sector, considering the economic, environmental, social, and technological challenges in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Uruguay. An original survey of 464 logistics companies involved in e-commerce in these four countries was carried out. From an economic point of view, companies have started to understand that being greener is not just a slogan but can be an opportunity for growth. The social pressure of customers for more sustainable supply chains forces companies to look for alternatives to reduce their environmental footprint. Finally, adding technology makes it possible to measure and monitor parameter indicators and look for alternatives to improve them (such as routing algorithms, electric vehicles, smart lockers, etc.). Decarbonization in the e-commerce logistics sector in Latin American countries still has room for improvement (for example, using metrics and electric vehicles) to match the levels of companies with similar characteristics in European, Asian, or North American countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable City Logistics and Urban Freight Transport: Data-Driven and Field-Driven Methods and Applications)

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19 pages, 4719 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilising PLS-SEM and Km² Methodology in Urban Logistics Analysis: A Case Study on Popayan, Colombia

by Juan Garcia-Pajoy, Nelson Paz Ruiz, Mario Chong and Ana Luna

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12976; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712976 - 28 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1083

Abstract

The development of Latin American cities has been characterised by disorderly expansion. This urbanisation looks set to continue, and, by 2050, there will be a considerable demand for resources, spaces, and food to survive in emerging societies. All this requires an increase in urban freight logistics operations. Although several stakeholders are involved, citizens tend to be overlooked when planners and decision makers look to solve the problems generated by freight operations. This research focuses on logistics activities and stakeholder perceptions in areas of high vehicular flow and commercial establishment density in the mid-sized Colombian city of Popayán. Drawing on the methods proposed in previous studies conducted in Latin American cities, this paper’s scientific value lies in its comprehensive approach, integration of quantitative and qualitative data, and application of PLS-SEM analysis. Its contribution to sustainable urban planning is evident through insights into optimising urban logistics, enhancing stakeholder engagement, promoting sustainable transport, and informing policy formulation. These aspects make the paper a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers, and urban planners seeking to create more sustainable and efficient urban logistics systems. The results show a correlation between commercial establishments’ locations and urban logistics operations. Overall, the research creates an ample scope for studying stakeholder perceptions and urban logistics in other mid-sized Latin American cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable City Logistics and Urban Freight Transport: Data-Driven and Field-Driven Methods and Applications)

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23 pages, 4771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SOLFI: An Integrated Platform for Sustainable Urban Last-Mile Logistics’ Operations—Study, Design and Development

by Leonor Teixeira, Ana Luísa Ramos, Carolina Costa, Dulce Pedrosa, César Faria and Carina Pimentel

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2613; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032613 - 1 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2012

Abstract

Sustainable urban logistics has an important impact on the cities, which emphasizes the need for better management of logistics activities, including the usage of environmentally friendly transportation. The sustainability of cities, a concern that is on the agenda, is a very important topic pertaining to current political and societal issues. In this sense, although collaboration among urban logistics stakeholders on projects can be challenging, this effort pays off when there is a significant result for the sustainability of cities. This paper aims to present an Information System, named SOLFI (Sistema de Otimização para a Logística urbana com Fluxos Integrados), for planning management and control of urban logistics based on sustainability that integrates the transport of passengers and freight, using the city bus network and bicycles to perform last-mile deliveries. To develop the SOLFI solution and to ensure co-creation through a participative design approach, an agile methodology was used. In terms of results, the SOLFI integrates different agents in the movement of goods in urban centers with less polluting and small vehicles, in particular buses and bicycles. It represents a decision support system that is intended to operate in real-time, managing the entire process from the request until the load delivery to the final destination, to simplify, automate, and improve the urban logistics process. Thus, the main characteristics of SOLFI are to manage all the information required for this process in order to: (i) request quotation and acceptance management; (ii) deliver plan development to all the agents involved; (iii) manage the loads along the network; (iv) allow the tracking and control of requests along the network; and (v) enable replanning due to various possible disruptions that may occur during the process. SOLFI’s distinctive characteristic and main contribution result from the integration of all the transportation network and all agents in the same platform while considering synchronization among involved agents. The SOLFI solution allows for the reduction of traditional flows of goods, taking advantage of the availability of public passenger transport (buses) to perform the main travel distance within the city and the use of bicycles as a last-mile step. In this way, there is a reduction in the number of polluting vehicles in the city, meeting sustainability practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable City Logistics and Urban Freight Transport: Data-Driven and Field-Driven Methods and Applications)

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Review

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28 pages, 953 KiB

Open AccessReview

Consolidating Port Decarbonisation Implementation: Concept, Pathways, Barriers, Solutions, and Opportunities

by Anas S. Alamoush, Dimitrios Dalaklis, Fabio Ballini and Aykut I. Ölcer

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14185; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914185 - 25 Sep 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2947

Abstract

Industries worldwide are facing the urgent need to decarbonise in alignment with the goal of the Paris Agreement (PA), which aims to limit global warming. However, progress towards achieving this extremely important goal has been sluggish, and the wider maritime transport sector (ports included) is no exception. Despite practical barriers faced by ports, solutions have not yet been developed. Similarly, the definition or concept of decarbonisation, including opportunities arising for the port sector, remains underdeveloped and lacks support from academic research. Specifically, there are a lack of conceptual studies that yield clear and usable results and evidence. To address this gap and shed light on port decarbonisation as a contemporary issue (the study aim), this study has conducted a literature review consulting different academic and grey studies. The results of this study define the concept of port decarbonisation, highlight the barriers that hinder progress in this area, and establish solutions to guide ports in implementing decarbonisation measures and mitigating barriers. Building upon these findings, this study not only contributes to scholarly discussions surrounding port decarbonisation but also offers valuable implications for port managers, policy makers, practitioners, and other pertinent authorities. By properly understanding the concept of decarbonisation and its barriers and expanding knowledge in relation to it and its practical implementation, including the eye-opening opportunities, port stakeholders can actively contribute to the objective of the Paris Agreement and the broader pursuit of sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable City Logistics and Urban Freight Transport: Data-Driven and Field-Driven Methods and Applications)

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