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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 55464

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Stanisław Iwan

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Guest Editor

Department of Logistics and Transport Systems, Maritime University of Szczecin, Wały Chrobrego 1-2, 70-500 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: smart, green and integrated transport; urban freight transport; intelligent transport systems; logistics; sustainable transport
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Leise de Oliveira

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Guest Editor

Department of Transport and Geotechnical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31515-212 Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Interests: urban freight transport; city logistics; freight and passenger transport system; sustainable cities; sustainable development; econometrics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of sustainable, environmentally friendly urban freight transport systems has become the most significant challenge for city authorities, logistics operators, deliverers, and purchasers, as well as manufacturers (especially vehicles producers) and other urban freight transport stakeholders. Due to the fast growth of urban areas and the number of city dwellers, as well as the increasing importance of e-commerce in regular business practices, it is important to find the solutions that will help reduce the negative impact of the transport systems on the city environment. This is one of the most important aspects of the effort to make our cities more user friendly.

This Special Issue will include papers focused on different topics related to the development of sustainable urban freight transport and the implementation of environmentally friendly solutions in city areas. The authors should focus on the influence of urban freight transport on the environment, including goods distribution in different city types, safety problems in urban freight transport, new trends in ecologistics, the development of innovative measures based on computerization of urban infrastructure, the utilization of telematics systems in urban freight distribution, and the utilization of alternative delivery systems, as well as alternatively fueled vehicles and the implementation of UFT systems based on different transport modes. Special attention will be paid to electro-mobility issues in city logistics as well as autonomous delivery systems.

Prof. Dr. Stanisław Iwan
Prof. Dr. Leise Kelli de Oliveira
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

Environmental impact of urban freight transport;
Utilization of electro-mobility in city logistics;
New trends in city logistics;
Autonomous systems in city logistics;
IT platforms for freight distribution in urban areas;
Modeling freight distribution in urban areas;
Planning freight distribution in the context of sustainable development;
Public-private partnerships for sustainable urban logistics;
Safety aspects in urban freight transport;
Metropolitan environment monitoring in terms of freight transport;
Impact of logistics systems on the effective functioning of metropolitan areas;
Economic aspects of improving safety in freight distribution in urban areas;
Sustainable logistics in the urban tourist area

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2707 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Six Sigma in Urban Logistics Management—A Case Study

by Justyna Lemke, Kinga Kijewska, Stanisław Iwan and Tomasz Dudek

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4302; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084302 - 13 Apr 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6224

Abstract

A city as a system that constitutes one of the most important areas of human activities. The significant role to fulfill their expectations pay the goods transport and deliveries. These issues are the subject of urban logistics. In broad terms, urban logistics may be construed as a number of processes focused on freight flows, which are completed in cities, including deliveries, supply, goods transfer, services, etc. Due to the different urban logistics stakeholders’ expectations, these systems generate many challenges for managers, especially in the context of city users’ needs and their quality of life. Today, there is a lack of broadened approach and methodology to support them from the processes’ efficiency perspective. To fulfill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to apply the Six Sigma method as a support in last mile delivery management. Six Sigma method plays important role in production systems processes management. However, it could be useful in much wider perspective, including transport and logistics processes. The Authors emphasize that the Six Sigma method could be efficient approach in the last mile delivery processes’ analysis in the context of their efficiency. It helps positioning the customer satisfaction level and quantify the delivery processes defects, related to the undelivered goods. Following that it could improve significantly the last mile delivery processes efficiency. The concept is illustrated by a sample evaluation of one of the urban logistics processes: completion of deliveries. To this end, urban logistics processes were defined. In particular, the delivery completion process was mapped, and the process client was defined along with their expectations. The defects that occurred in the process were identified and analyzed. A DPMO (Defect per Million Opportunities) indicator was established for three randomly selected months. In addition, a root cause analysis of errors was performed. The sigma level for the studied process ranged from 2.61 to 2.89. The factor that had the greatest impact on the number of defects defined as failed deliveries was customer’s absence. The obtained results indicate that the delivery process should be examined in more detail. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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22 pages, 4254 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Freight Demand and Supply Assessment for Implementation of Crowdsourcing Technology: A Case Study in Bratislava, Slovakia

by Andrii Galkin, Tibor Schlosser, Ivan Cardenas, Dominika Hodakova and Silvia Capayova

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3865; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073865 - 31 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2669

Abstract

The article studies the development of crowd shipping technologies in the Old Town of Bratislava. The paper aims to assess the potential for implementation of the crowdsourcing technology in the transport system of Bratislava. Methodology: An interview with the entrepreneurs in this area was conducted to assess the potential demand. In the survey, we collected information about type of goods; operations, quantities, and frequency of delivery; willingness to pay for one delivery among others. Based on the results, the freight demand, and its characteristics were assessed. The second part of the paper is devoted to assessing the supply of logistics to meet the demand. A survey of the willingness of ordinary travelers to work as an occasional courier was conducted. In the end, the equilibrium of demand and supply in the crowd shipping market in Bratislava is presented. The regression and correlation analysis were performed to understand the relationship between parameters of demand and delivery quantities in the first part of the research, sociodemographic characteristics of nonprofessional couriers, and the maximum weight of the parcel nonprofessional couriers agree to delivery. The willingness to pay per delivery was determined for respondents of different genders. Key findings: The results of the survey allowed us to estimate the freight demand for the Old Town of Bratislava, as well as to understand the needs of potential demand for crowd shipping services. The results of the second questionnaire show the sociodemographic characteristics of nonprofessional couriers (age, gender, gender, income, travel time) significantly influence the decision to participate in the delivery market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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19 pages, 6001 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Planning the Rational Freight Vehicle Fleet Utilization Considering the Season Temperature Factor

by Andrii Galkin, Maria Olkhova, Stanisław Iwan, Kinga Kijewska, Serhii Ostashevskyi and Oleksii Lobashov

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3782; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073782 - 29 Mar 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2757

Abstract

Food product transportation is one of the most problematic tasks considering the specific expectations in the context of the transport conditions. It seems to be a significant challenge for the freight carriers’ decision-makers. The proper organization and management of that process is the basis for the appropriate fulfilment of the needs of customers, related, among others, to the proper quality of delivered products (such as freshness, expiration date, etc.). The additional challenge in this context is the efficient delivery at the city area, taking into account typical city transportation problems, such as congestion, narrow ways, lack of the unloading areas, etc. The role of these tasks is analyzed in this paper, on the basis of the chosen parameters and technologies of the transportation process. The purpose of this paper is to study the rational freight fleet formation in the case of changing the parameters of material flow in time. It was found that with the other unchanged parameters of material flow, the change in ambient temperature affects the technological process of transportation, the type of vehicle for its movement and the structure of the vehicle fleet. Accordingly, the types of vehicles (tent or insulated) necessary for the movement of certain material flows, which require special conditions for their transportation, have been determined, in compliance with the temperature regime and periods of their use. The organization scenarios of the transport service of the studied distribution processes were proposed, taking into consideration the change in conditions for the transportation of material flow, purchase of insulated semitrailers or their rent. The proposed versions were calculated and evaluated under the given conditions, and based on the net present value, the best of the proposed options was found: the purchase of one insulated semi-trailer while hiring the remaining insufficient insulated vehicles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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15 pages, 2033 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Intelligent Transport Systems Used in Urban Agglomerations and Intercity Roads by Professional Truck Drivers

by Natalia Drop and Daria Garlińska

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2935; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052935 - 8 Mar 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2820

Abstract

Using intelligent transport systems in cities is gaining popularity. The fundamental aim of their existence is to improve safety and traffic flow and prevent congestion in city centres. All people moving around the city, such as public transport passengers, as well as truck and emergency vehicle drivers and drivers of passenger vehicles, are users of intelligent transport systems. Research which was carried out for the article entirely concerns functioning and utility of intelligent transport systems from truck drivers’ experience. The main aim of the research was to evaluate services and tools within intelligent transport systems in European cities which are visited by Polish truck drivers. Our research indicates that most drivers (almost 98%) stated that they find intelligent transport systems useful and 92.5% of interviewed pointed that intelligent transport systems help with their everyday work duties. Of all the tools in the survey drivers agreed that variable content signs, accommodative traffic lights, and extra road illumination have most influence in road safety. Identifying the most useful and helpful tools of intelligent transport systems will allow to define their preferred development directions from truck drivers’ point of view. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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29 pages, 2799 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multimodal Transport in the Context of Sustainable Development of a City

by Marzena Kramarz and Edyta Przybylska

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2239; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042239 - 19 Feb 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5345

Abstract

Multimodal freight transport in cities is a complex, valid, and vitally important problem. It is more seldom underlined in scientific studies and included in cities’ strategies that devote more attention to passenger transport than freight transport. The increased utilization of multimodal transport matches current transport policy and at the same time, it is one of the most important challenges put before cities striving to achieve sustainable development. In this case, the paper embarks upon the problem of relations between multimodal transport development and the sustainable development of the cities. The objective of the paper is an analysis of the impact of the selected city of the Upper Silesian metropolis on the development of multimodal freight transport and an assessment of the impact of the development of multimodal transport on the sustainable development of the cities of the Upper Silesian metropolis. The authors developed three research questions in order to implement the adopted objective. The process of looking for the answer included four stages. Within the first and second stages, the literature studies and experts’ research allowed for identifying key factors of the multimodal transport development that a city may have an impact on. In the third stage, the research was two-fold and was based on a questionnaire and scenario analysis. Due to the individual character of each of the cities, scenarios were developed for Katowice, being the main economic center of Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis. As a result of the research, factors have been identified that must be included in a strategy of a city that strives for sustainable development. The last stage of the research focused on the initial concept of the multimodal transport development impact assessment on sustainable development of the cities. Conclusions developed at individual stages allowed for answering the research questions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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16 pages, 2737 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Collection of Waste from Passenger Ships and Its Impact on the Functioning of Tourist Port City Świnoujście

by Aleksandra Łapko, Ewa Hącia and Radosław Wieczorek

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2133; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042133 - 17 Feb 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3088

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the issue of waste collection from passenger ships in tourist port cities using the example of Świnoujście, Poland. This is an important issue from the perspective of sustainable development, including that of tourism, because an improperly organized waste collection process may endanger the natural environment and disrupt the life of the local community. After the analysis of the types of waste generated on vessels, the means of transport used for their collection were identified with particular regard to those used at the seaport in Świnoujście, a tourist city. The selected waste quantities collected from ships in 2017–2019 were quantitatively analyzed. In addition, the number of waste collections was analyzed in the context of the number of vehicles involved in this process. The latter element is important in terms of impact on the port city’s transport system, which has a spa and tourist function. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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15 pages, 1286 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of the Construction Supplies Implementation on Road Safety in the City Center: A Case Study of the City of Szczecin

by Oleksandra Osypchuk and Katarzyna Sosik

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1725; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041725 - 5 Feb 2021

Viewed by 2208

Abstract

The development of modern cities is impossible without an increase in the number of construction projects implemented. However, in the conditions of limited spaces, local and national legal regulations, and logistic difficulties, their implementation is becoming a growing challenge. Construction supplies can pose a particular problem. Its planning, organization, and implementation have an impact not only on construction and assembly works, but also on the external environment of the construction site, of which traffic is an important element. The aim of the study was to analyze and answer the question of whether there is a connection between the implementation of construction supplies and the occurrence of road traffic hazards in cities on the example of Szczecin. In addition, the article aims to find solutions to reduce the number of road accidents and increase road safety. The conducted research also revealed the weak points of the system of collecting and analyzing data on road accidents. The research covered selected areas in the center of Szczecin, where construction projects have been implemented since 2016 and road accidents have occurred. The reference year is the year preceding the start of construction. The research on selected construction projects meeting the criteria, carried out in the article has shown that their implementation may have an impact on the level of safety in the areas adjacent to the construction site. However, the unequivocal statement of such relationship must be supported by extended research, covering a greater number of projects, additional consideration of the number of deliveries for supply purposes, and the characteristics of vehicles involved in road incidents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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17 pages, 308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons Learned: Sustainability in Brazilian Omnichannel Retail

by Paulo Renato de Sousa, Marcelo Werneck Barbosa, Leise Kelli de Oliveira, Paulo Tarso Vilela de Resende, Ricardo Ruiz Rodrigues, Myrian Teixeira Moura and Daniel Matoso

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020666 - 12 Jan 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7430

Abstract

This paper reports the focus group results administered with top executives of the Brazilian retailers regarding their omnichannel strategies. This study aimed at analyzing the process of implementing omnichannel strategies and identifying contributions omnichannel has to sustainability. Using qualitative exploratory and a case study design to assess three large Brazilian retailers, we collected information concerning omnichannel implementation associated with processes, technologies, and organizational structure. This study was conducted with top executives in Brazil. Results suggest that the most viable solution, given a company’s investment capacity, is implementing an e-commerce platform that results in greater integration, profitability, and sustainability of the whole chain. A discussion on the benefits and outcomes related to the sustainable performance of such companies is also presented. This study answers calls for more research on the retail sector in Latin American countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

15 pages, 4011 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Characteristics of Metropolitan Areas on the Logistics Sprawl: A Case Study for Metropolitan Areas of the State of Paraná (Brazil)

by Luísa Tavares Muzzi de Sousa and Leise Kelli de Oliveira

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9779; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229779 - 23 Nov 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2740

Abstract

The concentration of warehouses in peripheral regions of metropolitan areas in a time period is called logistics sprawl (LS). Identifying this phenomenon could help to reduce externalities related to urban freight transport, mainly, the distance traveled. This paper examines the contribution of the characteristics of metropolitan areas on the logistics sprawl indicator. A case study was carried out considering data from eight metropolitan areas of the state of Paraná (Brazil). The research method is based on the data collection procedure proposed, centrographic method, and linear regression. The results of the centrographic method reveal a positive LS in four metropolitan areas and a negative LS in three metropolitan areas. In general, the warehouses are close to the highways that cross the metropolitan area. In addition, the size of the metropolitan area has a negative relationship with the number of warehouses and the logistics sprawl indicator. The findings highlight the importance of public policies relating to urban freight transport and land use at a metropolitan level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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13 pages, 1873 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electric Scooter Sharing and Bike Sharing User Behaviour and Characteristics

by Tomasz Bieliński and Agnieszka Ważna

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9640; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229640 - 19 Nov 2020

Cited by 124 | Viewed by 18576

Abstract

New, shared mobility modes, including dockless e-scooters and e-bikes, were recently introduced to many cities around the world. The aim of this article is to determine the differences between the users of e-bike sharing, and e-scooter sharing systems, and the characteristics of their travel behaviour. This study is based on the survey of the citizens of Tricity in northern Poland. We find that e-bicycles are predominantly used as first and last mile transport and to commute directly to various places of interest, whereas e-scooters are more often used for leisure rides. Survey respondents that adopted shared micromobility are generally young, and e-scooter users are on average younger than e-bike users. Although all shared vehicles in Tricity are electrically assisted, this did not allow for the elimination of the gender gap, or help retired and disabled people in the adoption of shared micromobility services. We have also identified factors discouraging people from the usage of e-bike and e-scooter sharing and found them to be different for both types of services. Finally, we investigated the issue of using shared e-bikes for urban logistics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green City Logistics)

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