City logistics

Environmentally sustainable city logistics: minimising urban freight emissions

Chapter

Chapter in 'Handbook on City Logistics and Urban Freight' eds Marcucci et al (2023)

The environmental problems posed by freight transport emissions are particularly acute in urban areas.  In towns and cities high levels of logistical activity and high population densities coincide.  This book chapter examines the level of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas and explores the options for reducing them.  ...

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The Possible Impact of 3D Printing and Drones on Last-Mile Logistics: An Exploratory Study

Paper

McKinnon, A.C., Built Environment, 42, 4, 617-629 (2016)

3D printing and drones may have the potential to transform the movement of freight in urban areas, particularly on the so-called 'last mile' to the home. This paper reviews available evidence on the likely scalability of these innovations in a city logistics context and assesses their possible impact on urban traffic levels. ...

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Drones: will last mile logistics take to the air

Article

McKinnon, A.C. Article in Future Logistics, a Freight & Logistics supplement by the FTA. October 2016

This short article discusses the feasibility of mass distribution of parcels by drone. It examines the logistical options for replacing vans with drones and the practicalities of despatching and receiving drones.   It concludes, for several reasons, that delivery by drone is likely to be, at best,  a premium, niche service.  ...

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Crowdshipping: a communal approach to reducing urban traffic levels

Paper

McKinnon, A.C. Logistics White Paper 1/2016

Crowdshipping applies crowd sourcing to the delivery of freight, mainly in urban areas.  It gives ordinary citizens a chance to carry small consignments for others, often in the course of their normal travel, for a fee. It is an example of the so-called 'gig economy' in action.  ...

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Consolidation of urban freight deliveries: review of key issues

Report

Edwards, J.B. and McKinnon, A.C. Research report from the Logistics Research Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2009)

This paper discusses a series of key issues that promoters of urban freight consolidation centres need to consider. It is based on discussions with a range of stakeholders in several UK urban consolidation schemes and a review of recent literature on the subject. ...

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Urban transhipment: review of previous work in the UK

Report

McKinnon, A.C. Report prepared for the Retail and Distribution Panel of the UK government Technology Foresight Programme (1998)

As a planning concept designed to rationalize the movement of freight in urban areas, urban transhipment has had a long and controversial history in the UK. Many city planners regarded it as a panacea while many logistics managers condemned it as costly and unworkable by managers. ...

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International review of urban transhipment studies and initiatives

Report

McKinnon, A.C. Report prepared for the Retail and Distribution Panel of the UK government Technology Foresight Programme (1998)

This report reviewed urban transhipment studies and initiatives in North America, France, the Netherlands and Germany over the previous 25 years. It concluded that, despite frequent reference in the UK at the time to urban transhipment working effectively in other countries, there had been very few examples elsewhere of the ... ...

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