This paper addresses the complex problem of multi-stakeholder decisions in urban freight transport policy-making from a public authority perspective, by proposing a procedure based on a modelling approach to support stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process. The paper analyses the existing methods that can be used for participatory decision-support, with the intent of contextualizing and introducing the innovative modelling approach.

Poor logistics efficiency, due to low load factors caused by high demand fragmentation, will have relevant negative consequences for cities in terms of pollution, congestion and overall city liveability. Policy-makers should equip themselves with appropriate tools to perform reliable, comprehensive and timely analyses of urban logistics scenarios, also considering upcoming (i) technological changes, (ii) business model evolutions and (iii) spatial-temporal changes these innovations will produce. This paper discusses the Digital Twin (DT) concept, illustrating the role it might play and clarifying how to properly conceive it with respect to urban freight transport policy-making and planning. The main message is that without a sound theory and knowledge with respect to the relationships linking contextual reality and choice/behaviour, it is not possible to make sense of what happens in the real world. Therefore, the joint use of behavioural and simulation models should characterise a DT within a Living Lab approach so to stimulate effective, well-informed and participated planning processes, but also to forecast both behaviour and reactions to structural changes and policy measures implementations.

Purpose This paper proposes an innovative approach to decision-making processes for urban freight planning that could easily be transferred across cities while capable of jointly taking into account: (1) all the conceivable and updated urban freight transport (UFT) measures that should apply to the specific city culture, structure and evolution, (2) all the relevant stakeholders and successfully involve them from the beginning, (3) behavioural, technical, operational, organisational and financial issues. Methods The methodology is organised and deployed in three phases, following three different approaches, i.e.: a “desk approach” for data acquisition and knowledge-based policy rankings; a “living lab approach” to foster stakeholders’ engagement in co-creating policies; a “modelling approach” to evaluate policies and find/define an optimised mix of shared applicable/effective policies. Results The three-phase methodology supports public authorities in: (a) increasing knowledge and understanding of the most innovative context-specific UFT policies; (b) integrating UFT policies in strategic urban planning via collaborative participation/governance processes; (c) developing an ex-ante behaviourally consistent, financially robust and technically compatible assessment of shared UFT policy mixes while providing appropriate instruments to facilitate policy adoption and deployment. Conclusions The proposed methodology contributes to the identification and development of effective UFT solutions. Bringing together knowledge acquisition, policy co-creation, behaviour change analysis within a single methodological approach, aimed at identifying an optimised policy package, is both new and needed.

Passengers and freight mobility in urban areas represents an increasingly relevant component of modern city life. On one side, it fosters economic growth, but, on the other, it also generates high social costs. Congestion and pollution are two problems policy-makers want to curb adopting appropriate measures. The pervasive use of information and communication technology will contribute to the fuller affirmation of the sharing economy paradigm. In this context, connected shared mobility can play a crucial role in relieving cities from transport-related negative externalities. This paper analyses the feasibility and behavioral levers that might facilitate the diffusion of crowdshipping in urban areas. Two are the main objectives the paper pursues. First: investigate under which conditions passengers would be willing to act as crowdshippers. Second: find out under which conditions people would be willing to receive their goods via a crowdshipping service. Crowdshipping can generate positive impacts such as the reduction of total and ad-hoc trips, by optimizing, through sharing, the use of resources and infrastructures. The study described in this paper represents a preliminary investigation, focusing on University students, to acquire the necessary knowledge base for developing a stated preference research endeavor. Preliminary results show that 87% of students would, in principle, be willing to act as crowdshippers (i.e. supply) with an adequate compensation, while 93% of them are willing to receive their goods through a crowdshipping system (i.e. demand) under certain conditions, especially characterized by delivery timing and punctuality.