S.28 Curb Side Management in the Physical Internet
16th June | 11.00 - 12.30 CET | SESSION 28. STREAM 7.
Special Session Description
The curbside clearly constitutes the start and end point for a wide array of mobility services. As such services continue to grow (e.g., e-commerce during pandemic), the importance of the curbside space is under-estimated. Conventional on-street parking and loading/unloading areas are conflicting with new mobility modes, causing curbside disorder.
The increasing of delivery services dropping off packages in a city boosted the demand for curb access. This business is competing with other city users, generating potential conflicts, environmental issues and inefficiencies. Such competition is even more growing, especially due to new/emerging trends and business models (e.g., digitalization, energy transition, e-commerce, automation) at speedier step than the policies/regulations now governing curbside accessibility. Governance models are traditionally based on stating qualitative principles and finding agreements among parties, but the limit of this approach is the ineffectiveness of the enforcement.
European cities are now rapidly looking for more effective ways to digitally manage such strategic spaces, and fairly balancing priorities for all these competing interests of city curbside communities, business requirements, and local mobility needs. There is a new form of competition derived from the interest in using exclusively a curbside space: from last mile delivery to drop-off, all the other transport modes (e.g., sharing mobility) and social and economic activity in a city (e.g., green space, pedestrians, etc.), everyone asks for a slice of the same curbside.
Planners and urban specialists have many options to manage the curb, but a core issue to address is deeply understanding real-time demand, considering that the curb zone located between streets and sidewalks is the newest real estate, valuable asset to avoid traffic congestion, double parking and increase equity and environmental goals, with potentials to generate revenue opportunities for cities and business.
This Special Session provides input generated by a large-scale survey conducted in May-June 2021 to logistics operators and cities, highlighting the ongoing transition from traditional parking management approach to curbside management, where planners and urban specialist are asked to smooth collaboration among several curb users, such as delivery companies, pedestrians, cyclists, shared mobility, car drivers, trash haulers, etc. and find suitable space for all activities and operations. The Session presents good examples of curb-appeal factors and solutions (e.g., omnichannel), considering that curbside pick-ups are becoming a popular one. Retail Wire says that upon a survey done in April 2021, 59% of respondents (retail experts) will use curbside pick-up during pandemic, with 75% of those saying they would continue to use it when the pandemic is over.
The Session also provides information on smart and flexible curbside management considered as a strategic context for understanding key mobility conflicts and boosting for all the different needs of city users. Collaborative engaged and digital dialogue between forward thinking municipalities and operators, allowing dynamic and virtuous mobility options at the curb, generating value from existing assets, clear advantages for zero-emission powered cars and better quality of life in cities, is part of the Session as well.
Data-driven thinking is part of the Session, on how open and (real-time) sharing of public spaces is able align conflicting interests, increasing efficiency of the entire logistics sector (e.g., availability of loading zones), everyday mobility increasing the quality of city life experience (e.g., congestion, safety, environment) and to find effective solutions in better considering emerging needs.
Adequate and dynamic data sharing between the public and private sectors represent a suitable solution, as Physical Internet driven approach, to establish forward-looking dialogue among stakeholders and on available solutions, fast-tracking the suitable decisions and smarter planning. Besides the proposed services on visibility and booking of shared lots, this Session introduces concrete examples for defining and implementing new governance models overcoming the current barriers and offering digital and dynamic layers between local authorities, logistics operators and other city users.
Session Agenda
Moderator: Paola Cossu – FIT Consulting – CEO and ALICE Urban Logistics Vice Chair
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“Curbing the chaos” driving to Physical Internet: the curb appeal encoding competing interest and needs – Paola Cossu (Chief Executive Officer) – FIT Consulting and vice-chair of the ALICE Urban Logistics Thematic Group
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A curb survey in Europe: a special focus on urban logistics for a better understanding and informed decisions on competing curbside demands – Giuliano Mingardo (Senior Researcher Transport Economics) Erasmus University Rotterdam
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Drive new rapid solutions to address curbside challenges in urban logistics: two case studies
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Enabling sectoral collaborations and tailoring tools to improve urban logistics in Barcelona - Philippe Rapin (CEO) Urban Radar; Àngel López (Director of Mobility Strategies) City of Barcelona.
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“Pop-up logistics centres in vacant or disused buildings in the Ile-de-France region: The Plume project” – Charlotte Migne (Group Sustainable Development Director) – FM Logistics and chair of the ALICE Urban Logistics Thematic Group
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Forward thinking European cities by harmonising and generating value from the urban logistics curb community: Giacomo Lozzi (Coordinator urban freight) and Ivo Cré (Director Policy and Projects) POLIS Cities and regions for transport innovation
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Q&A
Session Organizers
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Paola Cossu FIT Consulting srl
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Fabio Cartolano FIT Consulting srl
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Giuliano Mingardo Erasmus University Rotterdam
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Giacomo Lozzi POLIS
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Ivo Cré POLIS
About IPIC
The IPIC conference series supports the Physical Internet Initiative.
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