Last-mile deliveries account for around one third of traffic and emissions in cities. In a collaboration between researchers at the School of Business, Economics and Law, the City of Gothenburg and several freight operators, the partners examined how these transports can be made more sustainable.
“Many initiatives for sustainable urban logistics begin as pilot projects but struggle to continue once the funding ends. We wanted to understand what is required for these solutions to be scaled up and become a permanent part of the city’s transport system,” says Konstantina Katsela, logistics researcher at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg.
Last-mile deliveries, that is, the final leg where goods are transported from warehouses or distribution centres to the end customer, account for approximately one third of traffic and emissions in cities. The projectScaling community-integrated urban freight micro-hubs in Gothenburg focuses on urban micro-hubs, where goods are consolidated before being distributed using smaller, lower-emission vehicles.
Not primarily a technical challenge
Through workshops and meetings within the Gothenburg Freight Network – where public authorities, businesses and academia meet – the researchers Konstantina Katsela and Michael Brown analysed the organisational and economic conditions required for such systems to function in the long term. One central conclusion is that the challenge is not primarily technical.
“It is less about technology and more about governance and coordination between different actors. For such solutions to work, clear roles, viable business models and long-term responsibility are required,” says Konstantina Katsela.
Students are involved
The project has also been integrated into teaching. Students in urban logistics courses within the logistics programme at the School of Business, Economics and Law worked with real challenges related to urban freight in Gothenburg and developed ideas in dialogue with the city.
The collaboration will now continue within the Gothenburg Freight Network and through new joint research initiatives on sustainable urban freight.
