In the Media
Researchers at the University of Washington just launched an app to help people find and fill the pantries. They’re hoping to reduce food waste and make these “micropantries” more efficient.
Little Free Pantries, aka micropantries, began popping up around Seattle during Covid pandemic shutdowns, and many have continued to operate. So many, that there’s now a map for that —PantryMap.org — run by researchers at the University of Washington.
A new University of Washington project maps Little Free Pantries around the Seattle area, making it easier to find and donate to the community-run food cupboards.
“This is an effort to document and quantify the phenomenon of micropantries,” said Giacomo Dalla Chiara, a senior research scientist at the UW Urban Freight Lab. “Lots of micropantries and community fridges popped up around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I was curious about who uses them and how they are used.”
The University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab recently won a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to study how micro-pantries can be leveraged to advance food security and (food) waste reduction across Seattle.
Researchers are trying to reduce the mobility barrier to food by bringing it directly to neighborhoods.
E-cargo bikes are making last-mile delivery in Seattle faster and greener —and our Urban Freight Lab Research Scientist Giacomo Dalla Chiara is using real-world data to understand how they perform in a city designed for cars.
Seattle may be a global tech hub, but when it comes to driverless taxis, we lag behind peers like San Francisco and Phoenix. One key reason, our Kelly Rula tells GeekWire, is that Washington lacks a clear regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles, making companies hesitant to invest in testing and scaling here.
Dr. Anne Goodchild joins the NYC DOT Curb Enthusiasm podcast for a conversation centered on freight systems, the rise of ecommerce, and the role of government in freight policy.
“Urban areas are challenging for logistics because companies are trying to operate in an efficient, cost-effective, competitive business manner in an area that’s filled with other people with other demands,” says Anne Goodchild, founding director of the Urban Freight Lab.
Meet Sarah Dennis, NCST’s 2024 Outstanding Student of the Year!
In “The State of Sustainable Urban Last-Mile Freight Planning in the United States” (Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 91, No. 1) Thomas Maxner, Giacomo Dalla Chiara, and Anne Goodchild identified ways cities are planning to reduce emissions from last-mile goods movement.
What’s the big deal with little vehicles? Small, light urban vehicles (LUVs) are proliferating in cities, towns and villages in the U.S., and starting to cause some tension. LUVs include a range of vehicle types that are smaller than a conventional car, but larger than a bicycle. They are cheap, clean, and convenient for both goods delivery and everyday person travel. So what’s the issue? Read on to learn about these vehicles and how and why public officials and private…
Curb space is a precious resource in a city the size and scale of Seattle. With our many residents, businesses of all sizes, and the nonstop movement of people and goods, proactively managing our limited loading zones and curb space is essential.
Congratulations to Urban Freight Lab Research Assistant Arsalan Esmaili for receiving the prestigious Best Academic Paper Award (Freight Planning and Logistics) at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting last month in Washington, D.C.