Although urban agriculture as a way to come to sustainable urban food systems can be questioned and we have to be aware not falling into a ‘local trap’ regarding its benefits (Born & Purcell, 2006), initiatives for urban agriculture emerge all over the world. Some of these primarily focus on achieving social and educational goals while others try to become an (high tech) alternative to existing food supply chains. Whichever the goals of urban agriculture, in practice many of these initiatives have difficulties in their (logistics) operations. Research on urban agriculture and local‐for‐local food supply chains mainly focuses on environmental and economic benefits, alternative production techniques, short food supply chains (logistics infrastructure) or socio‐economic benefits of urban agriculture. So far, the alignment of urban agriculture goals with the chosen logistics concept – which includes more aspects than only infrastructure – has not gained much attention. This paper tries to fill this gap through an exploration of urban agriculture projects – both low and high tech – from around the world by using the integrated logistics concept (Van Goor et al., 2003). The main question to be answered in this paper is: to what extend can the integrated logistics concept contribute to understanding logistics drivers and barriers of urban agriculture projects? To answer this question, different urban agriculture projects were studied through information on their websites and an internet based questionnaire with key players in these projects. Our exploration shows that the ILC is a useful tool for determining logistics drivers and barriers and that there is much potential in using this concept when planning for successful urban agriculture projects.
MULTIFILE
City logistics is one of the causes of today's road congestion in our cities, but at the same time its efficiency is affected by the traffic problems. The driving behaviour and mission strategies used by vans and lorries operating in urban areas usually does not exploit modern infomobility solutions. CityLog, a project co-funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme, aims at increasing the sustainability and the efficiency of urban goods deliveries through an adaptive and integrated mission management and by innovative vehicle features. More particularly, CityLog integrates a wide range of logistics-oriented infomobility services that include an optimized pre-trip planner, a new type of navigation system based on enhanced maps and a last mile parcel tracking service to avoid unsuccessful deliveries. © 2011 IEEE.
LINK
The number of light commercial vehicles in cities is growing, which puts increasing pressure on the liveability of cities. Light electric freight vehicles (LEFV) and cargo bikes can offer a solution, as they occupy less space, can be manoeuvred easily and does not emit tailpipe pollutants. This paper presents the results of the first half-year of the LEVV-LOGIC project (2016-2018), aimed at exploring the potential of LEFVs for various urban freight flows. Delivery characteristics, trends, practical examples and the judgement of experts are combined to assess the potential of LEFVs for seven major urban freight flows. The preliminary analysis concludes that every urban freight flow has a certain level of potential for using LEFV. In particular parcel and food deliveries have high potential; however, deliveries related to services and the last phase of construction work can also be switched to LEFV. In comparison, non-food deliveries to retail establishments and the collection of waste collection have less potential. Though the latter can change when recycling standards become higher.
Lastmile.info contributes to livable urban environments and efficient deliveries. LastMile.info is set to become the essential platform for finding and monitoring all the necessary information so that you can optimally plan and execute the final stage of the route during store deliveries:> Clear overview of regulations (such as restrictions and time windows)> Shorter waiting times: reduced financial and environmental burden> Greater driver satisfaction thanks to insight into delivery locations
