Skip to content
Urban Freight Lab

Research Topic: Urban Goods Delivery and Land Use

Urban goods delivery and land use planning is a specialized aspect of urban planning that focuses on the efficient and sustainable management of land and infrastructure to support the delivery of goods in urban areas.

Paper

Sustainable Urban Goods Movement: Emerging Research Agendas

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2013.875058
Publication: Journal of Urbanism
Volume: 8(20)
Pages: 115-132
Publication Date: 2014
Summary:

While recent urban planning efforts have focused on smart growth development and management of growth into developed areas, the research community has not examined the impacts of these development patterns on urban goods movement. Successful implementation of growth strategies has multiple environmental and social benefits, but it also raises the demand for intraurban goods movement, potentially increasing conflicts between modes of travel and worsening air quality. Because urban goods movement is critical for economic vitality, and as policies are developed to manage urban goods movement, understanding the relationship between smart growth and goods movement is necessary. This paper reviews the academic literature and summarizes the results of guided interviews to identify the existing gaps in the state of knowledge and suggest important future research topics. Little research exists that directly examines the relationship between smart growth and goods movement; therefore, smart growth is dissected into sub-areas that relate to goods movement, and these areas are individually examined. These five key sub-areas are 1) access, parking, and loading zones; 2) road channelization, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities; 3) land use; 4) logistics; and 5) network system management. The existing state of knowledge is discussed in each of these areas and identify specific areas of concern determined from guided interviews. With these inputs, important areas of future research are identified.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildDr. Ed McCormack, Erica Wygonik, Alon Bassok, Daniel Carlson
Recommended Citation:
Wygonik, Erica, Alon Bassok, Anne V. Goodchild, Edward McCormack and Daniel Fred Carlson. “Sustainable Urban Goods Movement: Emerging Research Agendas.” (2012).
Paper

Urban Delivery Company Needs and Preferences for Green Loading Zones Implementation: A Case Study of NYC

 
Download PDF  (0.42 MB)
URL: https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784484340.030
Publication: Proceedings of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Transportation and Development Conference 2022: Transportation Planning and Workforce Development
Publication Date: 2022
Summary:

(This project is part of the Urban Freight Lab’s Technical Assistance Program, where UFL contributes to the project by providing 1:1 match funds in terms of staff and/or research assistants to complete project tasks.)

Green Loading Zones (GLZs) are curb spaces dedicated to the use of electric or alternative fuel (“green”) delivery vehicles. Some U.S. cities have begun piloting GLZs to incentivize companies to purchase and operate more green vehicles. However, there are several questions to be answered prior to a GLZ implementation, including siting, potential users and their willingness to pay. We reviewed best practices for GLZs around the world, and surveyed goods delivery companies operating in New York City to collect such information for a future GLZ pilot. The findings suggest the best candidate locations are areas where companies are currently subject to the most parking fines and double parking. Companies expressed willingness to pay for GLZs, as long as deploying green vehicles in the city can offset other cost exposures. Respondents also selected several single-space GLZs spread throughout a neighborhood as the preferred layout.

Authors: Thomas MaxnerNota GoulianouDr. Andisheh RanjbariDr. Anne Goodchild
Recommended Citation:
Maxner, T., Goulianou, P., Ranjbari, A., and Goodchild, A. (2022). "Studying Urban Delivery Company Needs and Preferences for Green Loading Zones Implementation: A Case Study of NYC", In Proceedings of ASCE Transportation and Development Conference (Forthcoming), Seattle, WA.
Paper

An Evaluation of Logistics Sprawl in Chicago and Phoenix

 
Download PDF  (2.28 MB)
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.08.008
Publication: Journal of Transport Geography
Volume: 88
Publication Date: 2018
Summary:

This paper evaluates whether or not there is a sprawling tendency to the spatial patterns of warehouse establishments in the Chicago and Phoenix metropolitan areas. The trend of warehouses to move away from the urban centers to more suburban and exurban areas is referred to as “Logistics Sprawl”. To measure sprawl, the barycenter of warehousing establishments was compared to the barycenter of all other industry establishments in the region between the years of 1998 and 2013 for Chicago; 1998 and 2015 for Phoenix. This shows that logistics sprawl is a behavior experienced by warehouses in the Chicago area, but not in the Phoenix area. This paper discusses if logistics sprawl is a national trend or a regional behavior by comparing these results to the previous case studies of the Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Seattle metropolitan areas.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Melaku Dubie, Kai C. Kuo
Recommended Citation:
Dubie, Melaku, Kai C. Kuo, Gabriela Giron-Valderrama, and Anne Goodchild. (2018) An Evaluation of Logistics Sprawl in Chicago and Phoenix. Journal of Transport Geography, 88, 102298–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.08.008
Paper

Logistics Sprawl: Differential Warehousing Development Patterns in Los Angeles and Seattle

 
Download PDF  (0.91 MB)
URL: https://doi.org/10.3141/2410-12
Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Volume: 2410
Pages: 105-112
Publication Date: 2014
Summary:

The warehousing industry experienced a period of rapid growth from 1998 to 2009. This paper compares how the geographic distribution of warehouses changed in both the Los Angeles and Seattle Metropolitan Areas over that time period. These two west coast cities were chosen due to their geographic spread and proximity to major ports as well as their difference in size. The phenomenon of logistics sprawl, or the movement of logistics facilities away from urban centers, which has been demonstrated in past research for the Atlanta and Paris regions, is examined for these two areas. The weighted geometric center of warehousing establishments was calculated for both areas for both years, along with the change in the average distance of warehouses to that center, an indicator of sprawl. We find that between 1998 and 2009, warehousing in Los Angeles sprawled considerably, with the average distance increasing from 25.91 to 31.96 miles, an increase of over 6 miles. However in Seattle, the region remained relatively stable, showing a slight decrease in average distance from the geographic center. Possible explanations for this difference are discussed.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Laetitia Dablanc, Scott Ogilvie
Recommended Citation:
Dablanc, Laetitia, Scott Ogilvie, and Anne Goodchild. "Logistics sprawl: differential warehousing development patterns in Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington." Transportation Research Record 2410, no. 1 (2014): 105-112. 
Report

NYC Zero-Emissions Urban Freight and Green Loading Zones Market Research

 
Download PDF  (3.99 MB)
Publication Date: 2022
Summary:

In an effort to reduce emissions from last-mile deliveries and incentivize green vehicle adoption, The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) is seeking to implement a Green Loading Zone (GLZ) pilot program. A Green Loading Zone is curb space designated for the sole use of “green” vehicles, which could include electric and alternative fuel vehicles as well as other zero-emission delivery modes like electric-assist cargo bikes. To inform decisions about the program’s siting and regulations, this study was conducted by the University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab (UFL) in collaboration with NYC DOT under the UFL’s Technical Assistance Program.

The study consists of three sources of information, focusing primarily on input from potential GLZ users, i.e., delivery companies. An online survey of these stakeholders was conducted, garnering 13 responses from 8 types of companies. Interviews were conducted with a parcel carrier and an electric vehicle manufacturer. Additionally, similar programs from around the world were researched to help identify current practices. The major findings are summarized below, followed by recommendations for siting, usage restriction and pricing of GLZs. It is important to note that these recommendations are based on the survey and interview findings and thus on benefits to delivery companies. However, other important factors such as environmental justice, land use patterns, and budgetary constraints should be considered when implementing GLZs.

Literature Review Findings

Green Loading Zones are a relatively novel approach to incentivizing electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Two relevant pilot programs exist in the United States, one in Santa Monica, CA and the other one in Los Angeles, CA. Both are “zero-emission” delivery programs, meaning alternative fuel vehicles that reduce emissions (compared to fossil fuel vehicles) are not included in the pilot’s parking benefits (dedicated spaces and free parking). Other cities including Washington, DC and Vancouver, Canada are also creating truck-only zones and dedicating parking to EVs in their efforts to reduce emissions. Bremen, Germany also has a similar program called an Environmental Loading Point.

Many cities in Europe are implementing low- or zero-emission zones. These are different than GLZs in that entire cities or sections of cities are restricted to vehicles that meet certain emissions criteria. London, Paris, and 13 Dutch municipalities are all implementing low-emission zones. These zones have achieved some success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: in London, CO2 from vehicles has been reduced by 13 percent. Companies operating in those cities have opted to purchase cleaner vehicles or to replace trucks with alternative modes like cargo bikes. In addition to demonstrating similar goals as NYC DOT, these programs provide insights to the siting and structure of GLZs. Loading zones have been selected based on equity concerns, delivery demand, and commercial density. Every city in the literature review has installed specific signage for the programs to clearly convey the regulations involved.

Survey and interview Findings

A range of company types replied to the survey: parcel carriers (large shippers), small shippers, e-commerce and retail companies, freight distributors, a truck dealer, a liquid fuel delivery company, and a logistics NYC  association (answering on behalf of members). The majority of these companies will be increasing their fleet sizes over the next ten years, and most plan to increase the share of EVs in their fleets while doing so. A smaller share (4 of 13) also plans to increase their share of alternative fuel vehicles. The most cited reasons for increasing fleet size and green vehicle share are: 1) internal sustainability goals, 2) social responsibility, and 3) new vehicles/models coming to the market.

Green vehicle adoption is not without its challenges. For EV adoption specifically, companies identified three major barriers: 1) competition in the EV market, 2) electric grid requirements upstream of company-owned facilities, and 3) lack of adequate government-supported purchasing subsidies. To overcome these barriers, respondents would like larger or more government purchasing incentives and reduced toll or parking rates for EVs. However, the majority of companies also expressed a willingness to pay for GLZs at similar rates to other commercial loading zones.

As for area coverage, all respondents deliver to Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. 11 of 13 deliver to Staten Island and the Bronx as well. All EV and cargo bike operators deliver to Manhattan, whereas only one EV operator and one cargo bike operator deliver to all five boroughs of NYC. Respondents deliver at all times of day, but the busiest times are between 9:00AM and 4:00PM (stated by 8 of 13 respondents). Peak periods are busiest for four companies in the morning (6:00AM-9:00AM) and six companies in the evening (4:00PM-9:00PM).

The interviews supported findings from the survey. Both interviewed companies have a vested interest in reducing their environmental footprint and plan to use or produce exclusively zero-emission vehicles by 2050 (carrier) or 2035 (manufacturer). However, they noted challenges to electrifying entire fleets for cities. Charging infrastructure needs to be expanded, but incentives are also needed (parking benefits, subsidies, expedited permitting) to make the market viable for many delivery companies.

Recommendations

The preceding findings informed four key recommendations:

  • GLZs should be made available to multiple modes: green vehicles and cargo bikes. Adequate curb space might be needed to accommodate multiple step-side vans plus a small vehicle and cargo bikes, but this should be balanced against curb utilization rates and anticipated dwell times to maximize curb use.
  • Explore piloting GLZs in Lower Manhattan and commercial areas of Midtown Manhattan; they could be the most beneficial locations for the pilot according to survey respondents.
  • The preferred layout for GLZs is several spaces distributed across multiple blocks.
  • DOT can charge for the GLZ use. It is recommended that rates not exceed current parking prices in the selected neighborhood, but some companies are willing to pay a modest increase over that rate to avoid parking tickets.

 

Authors: Thomas MaxnerNota GoulianouDr. Andisheh RanjbariDr. Anne Goodchild
Recommended Citation:
Urban Freight Lab (2022). NYC Zero-Emissions Urban Freight and Green Loading Zones Market Research.
Technical Report

Safe Truck Parking in PacTrans Interstate Corridors: I-5 and I-90

 
Download PDF  (1.46 MB)
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1773/43751
Publication Date: 2018
Summary:

Unresolved safety issues caused by truck parking shortages in high-demand locations are of keen importance to the State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) participating in the Regional PacTrans Center and to the thousands of trucking companies and drivers using the Interstate 5 (I-5) and Interstate 90 (I-90) corridors. Safety issues include serious and/or fatal crashes that may be related to the lack of safe and secure parking, and illegal/unofficial parking on entrance and exit ramps, shoulders, and freeway lanes that create hazards for motorists during severe weather.

WSDOT completed a statewide truck parking study in December 2016, and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) published a report on truck parking along the US97 corridor in July 2017. Both states are interested in addressing safety issues inherent in the current lack of truck parking capacity. Researchers at the Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center (SCTL) at the University of Washington developed this project’s research goals with WSDOT to support their work.

Goals

The project goals are to:
  • Provide data-based decision support to WSDOT and neighboring states as they develop solutions for the lack of safe truck parking along the I-5 and I-90 corridors.
  • Develop new and valuable insights from truck drivers’ expertise on safety problems resulting from the lack of truck parking capacity on these corridors.
To achieve these goals, the research team first conducted a research scan of existing studies and other online reports that describe the lack of parking in high-demand locations along the I-5 and I-90 corridors in the PacTrans region.

Future Trends 

SCTL identified three trends in the truck parking industry that will affect the truck parking shortage in the future:
  1. The rising cost of land in growing metropolitan areas will continue to intensify this problem. Rapidly increasing land costs create pressure on truck service firms to either create new revenue streams (charging for parking that was formerly included for ‘free’ along with retail fuel sales) or relocate further from metro centers if they cannot compete with higher-value land uses near highway interchanges. Also, manufacturing and wholesale facilities that generate a high number of truck trips will likely continue to maximize building footprints on parcels, reducing available land for on-site truck parking.
  2. Federal regulatory changes are likely to increase long-haul truck parking demand in the next 10 years. In the short term, the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate beginning in 2018 will change driver behavior. Although some long-haul drivers have not strictly followed federal Hours of Service (HOS) regulations in the past, under the new ELD mandate they are more likely to stop and park for required rest periods because it will be more difficult to evade detection. In the next 10 years, additional federal regulations may be enacted and shorten drivers’ HOS again, thereby increasing demand for more rest stops on the Interstate Highway System and other major truck routes.
  3. In the longer term, emerging autonomous and cooperative truck technologies that address driver fatigue are likely to reduce demand for truck stops in rural areas – but not near cities. The truck driver interviews conducted for this project show that drivers stop for business reasons, not just for safety rest periods.

Finally, SCTL conducted 184 interviews of truck drivers over a three-week time period at two high-demand truck stops on the I-5 and I-90 corridors to determine: (a) origin and destination of trips; (b) connection to the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma; (c) drivers’ perceptions of safety issues caused by a lack of truck parking; (d) types of commodities carried; and (e) why drivers parked at these rest stops.

Key Findings 

The SCTL Center’s research provides new data and insights to answer questions under discussion between state, local, and regional transportation agencies and communities in the central Puget Sound region. The research results supported development of the Washington State Freight Mobility Plan. However the project’s findings have not resulted in public funding for additional parking in high-demand locations near I5 and I-90.

One of the most topical questions is whether the state’s economy and/or the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma benefit from the truck trips that require rest stops near the Seattle-Tacoma Bellevue metropolitan area. This question is central to understanding their proportional roles and funding responsibilities to add parking capacity where it is scarce: in the central Puget Sound region.

  • The on-site truck driver survey showed that there is an extremely strong tie between truck parking activity and the state’s economy: 91% percent of trucks parked along I-90 (at TA Seattle East Travel Center in North Bend) and 87% of those parked along I-5 (at the Mustard Seed in Sumner) delivered goods to businesses and other customers within Washington State. The evidence belies the hypothesis that most trucks using parking facilities in Washington are passing through the state and therefore provide no economic value to it.
  • Most drivers using the two truck parking facilities in central Puget Sound were not going to either the Port of Seattle or Port of Tacoma. In fact, 83% of truck drivers parked near I-90 and 78% near I-5 did not go to either of the two container ports. Although port-related traffic uses iv the truck parking facilities, it is not the major cause of increased parking demand at these locations.
  • Why do truck drivers park in these facilities? Surprisingly, more park there – and park longer – for business reasons rather than for safety reasons. The largest group of drivers (34% of those interviewed at TA Seattle East and 36% at Mustard Seed) said their primary reason for the stop was to wait to meet a specific delivery time at their destination or wait to locate another load. When SCTL compared the number of hours parked with the primary reason for parking, it found that delivery operations were the largest driver for longer stays.

The research findings have been used to communicate the importance of providing truck parking in high-demand areas in Washington State, particularly near I-5 south of Seattle and along I-90 near North Bend, to local officials, WSDOT, and other state officials.

By an overwhelming margin, truck drivers who parked along I-5 and I90 near the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area delivered goods in Washington State, providing strong evidence that their activities support the state’s economy and residents.

Authors: Gabriela Girón-ValderramaDr. Anne GoodchildBarbara Ivanov
Recommended Citation:
Giron-Valderrama, Gabriela, Barbara Ivanov, and Anne Goodchild. "Safe Truck Parking in PacTrans Interstate Corridors: I-5 and I-90." (2018).
Paper

Forecasting Tools for Analyzing Urban Land Use Patterns and Truck Movement: A Case Study and Discussion

 
Download PDF  (0.49 MB)
URL: https://doi.org/10.3141/2547-11
Publication: Transportation Research Record
Volume: Volume 2547
Pages: 74-82
Publication Date: 2016
Summary:

Many urban planning efforts have supported development in dense, mixed-use areas, but tools are not widely available to help understand the relationship between urban form and goods movement. A review is presented on the status of urban goods movement forecasting models to account for the impacts of density and mixed land use. A description is given of a series of forecasting model runs conducted with state-of-the-practice tools available at the Puget Sound Regional Council. By comparing dense, mixed-use scenarios with different baseline and transportation network alternatives, the ability of the model to capture the relationship between goods movement and density is evaluated. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for truck forecasting and freight planning.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildDr. Ed McCormack, Erica Wygonik, Alon Bassok, Daniel Carlson
Recommended Citation:
Wygonik, Erica, Alon Bassok, Edward McCormack, Anne Goodchild, and Daniel Carlson. "Forecasting Tools for Analyzing Urban Land Use Patterns and Truck Movement: Case Study and Discussion of Results." Transportation Research Record 2547, no. 1 (2016): 74-82.
Report

The Seattle Neighborhood Delivery Hub Pilot Project: An Evaluation of the Operational Impacts of a Neighborhood Delivery Hub Model on Last-Mile Delivery

 
Download PDF  (2.98 MB)
Publication Date: 2021
Summary:

As one of the nation’s first zero-emissions last-mile delivery pilots, the Seattle Neighborhood Delivery Hub served as a testbed for innovative sustainable urban logistics strategies on the ground in Seattle’s dense Uptown neighborhood. Providers could test and evaluate new technologies, vehicles, and delivery models — all in service of quickly getting to market new more fuel- and resource-efficient solutions, reducing emissions and congestion, and making our cities more livable and sustainable.

These technologies are also an important part of the City of Seattle’s Transportation Electrification Blueprint, including the goal of transitioning 30% of goods delivery to zero emissions by 2030.

Authors: Urban Freight Lab
Recommended Citation:
Urban Freight Lab (2021). The Seattle Neighborhood Delivery Hub Pilot Project: An Evaluation of the Operational Impacts of a Neighborhood Delivery Hub Model on Last-Mile Delivery.
Paper

Land Use Policies and Transport Emissions: Modeling the Impact of Trip Speed, Vehicle Characteristics and Residential Location

 
Download PDF  (0.39 MB)
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2013.10.011
Publication: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
Volume: 26
Pages: 47-51
Publication Date: 2014
Summary:

This study employs a multilevel model to compare the influence of land use on transportation emissions in urban and suburban areas when considering trip speed and vehicle characteristics. In the existing literature, transportation emissions are calculated with aggregate travel activity and emissions factors, however, emissions factors are sensitive to trip speed and vehicle characteristics, implying that considering those factors can change transportation emissions as well as the estimated effects of the built environment. Our results show that indeed this true.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Jinhyun Honga
Recommended Citation:
Hong, Jinhyun, and Anne Goodchild. "Land use policies and transport emissions: Modeling the impact of trip speed, vehicle characteristics and residential location." Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 26 (2014): 47-51.
Student Thesis and Dissertations

Estimating the Location of Private Infrastructure for Delivery and Pick-Up Operations in Dense Urban Areas

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1773/42251
Publication Date: 2018
Summary:

The growth of home deliveries, lower inventory levels and just-in-time deliveries drive the fragmentation of freight flows, increased frequency, more delivery addresses and smaller volumes. This leads to trucks inefficiently loaded and consequently more trucks in the road contributing to the growing congestion in cities. According to a study by INRIX and the Texas Transportation Institute, travelers in the U.S. are stuck 42 hours per rush hour commuter in their cars in 2014, that is twice what it was in 1982 and the problem is four times worse than in 1982 for cities of 500,000 people or less [28]. At the same time, a historical lack of integration of the freight transportation system into city planning efforts has left local governments unprepared. Under these circumstances, there is growing need for best practices for freight planning and management in U.S. cities. There is anecdotal evidence that the lack of areas for trucks to park and load/unload freight is one of the main causes of an inefficient urban freight parking infrastructure that leads to illegal parking and more congestion. The problem of lack of parking for freight loading/unloading has been studied with a focus on on-street parking. Meanwhile, the contribution of areas out of the public right of way (i.e. private) such as loading bays in buildings has not benefited from research. More importantly, the location and features of private freight parking are often unknown by local governments due to their private character.

This thesis presents the first predictive tool to estimate the presence of private freight loading/unloading infrastructure based on observable characteristics of property parcels and their buildings. The predictive model classifies parcels with and without these infrastructures using random forest, a supervised machine learning algorithm. The model was developed based on a rich geodatabase of private truck load/unload spaces in the City of Seattle and the King County tax parcel database. The performance of the random forest model was evaluated through cross-validated estimates of the test error. The distribution of the outcome variables is unbalance with over 90% of parcels without private freight infrastructure. To consider the problem of unbalance sample, the optimum model was set to maximize the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The authors investigated the confusion matrix and the model classifier was design to balance the sensitivity and specificity of the model. Model results showed AUC of 81.5%, a true positive rate of 82.1% and a misclassification error of 22.5%.

This research provides an assessment tool that reduces the field work required to develop a quality inventory of private freight loading/unloading infrastructure by targeting the parcel stock and making data collection methods more effective. Local governments can use this research to inform efforts to revise and update delivery operations and regulations of truck parking and loading.

Authors: José Luis Machado León
Recommended Citation:
Machado Leon, Jose Luis. (2018). Estimating the Location of Private Infrastructure for Delivery and Pick-Up Operations in Dense Urban Areas. University of Washington Master's Degree Thesis.
Thesis: Array