The Urban Freight Lab has been awarded a grant from the Health Effects Institute (HEI) to study the effects of ecommerce-driven freight and warehousing operations on air quality and public health in historically marginalized communities. The project, titled Managing the Traffic-Related Air Pollution (TRAP) Effects of Urban Warehousing Near Historically Marginalized Communities: A Scenario Analysis of Technology and Land Use Based Strategies, marks the first application of a modeling approach in ecommerce-related research. Case studies will include Seattle, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and New York City — three cities at the forefront of implementing policies that balance urban freight growth with community health and equity.
The surge in ecommerce growth has driven high demand for warehousing and distribution centers (W&Ds), often in low-income neighborhoods and areas with large Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) populations. These facilities, increasingly built closer to city centers to expedite direct-to-customer deliveries, are raising concerns over the impacts of freight traffic and air pollution exposure for nearby residents, workers, and students. As cities and businesses adopt new strategies, this study will assess how effectively recent environmental sustainability policies reduce air pollution in communities most affected by freight activity.
“While ecommerce has improved access to goods in cities, it has also concentrated freight emissions in historically marginalized areas,” said Travis Fried, a doctoral student working on the project. “This research will provide insights into how different urban freight and land-use strategies can improve community health outcomes and environmental justice, helping cities better protect the those most affected by freight activity.”
This project is part of HEI’s research program on Assessing Changes in Exposures and Health Outcomes in Historically Marginalized and Environmentally Overburdened Communities, which evaluates the pact of air quality actions on ambient and indoor air quality, exposure levels, health outcomes in historically marginalized and environmentally overburdened urban and rural communities.
Using an innovative model-based approach, researchers will estimate traffic-related air pollution exposure across different population groups and simulate the effects of various state and local urban freight policy approaches — such as adopting low- and zero-emission commercial vehicles, revising zoning laws, and relocating W&D sites — to identify the most effective strategies for reducing pollution disparities. The research team will incorporate local traffic, emissions, and demographic data to create city-specific models.
The research team is comprised of:
- Anne Goodchild (Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Founder, Urban Freight Lab) – Principal Investigator (PI), strategic leadership
- Giacomo Dalla Chiara (Research Associate, Urban Freight Lab) – statistical leadership
- Travis Fried (Ph.D. Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Research Assistant, Urban Freight Lab) – methodology and report production
- Julian Marshall (Boeing International Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering) – Co-PI, pollutant exposure and health impact methodologies and interpretations
- Lianne Sheppard (Rohm & Haas Endowed Professor in Public Health Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences; Professor, Biostatistics) – scientific advisor for data interpretation and review of written materials
A multi-stakeholder steering committee – including Consumer Reports, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (Greater Boston), New York City Department of Transportation, NYC Health, Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment, Terreno Realty Corporation, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice – will guide the project’s design and implementation.
The Urban Freight Lab plans to share findings in academic journals and a comprehensive policy report, providing data-driven recommendations for freight and land-use policies that prioritize both health and equity.