Last-Mile Impacts on Deliveries

The increase in e-commerce and same-day delivery services is changing the nature of urban streets. An Amazon truck idling in the middle of a one-way street affects immediate neighbors and contributes to the global burden of climate change. Will cities let the private sector dictate the future of urban streets and freight emissions?

In "The State of Sustainable Urban Last-Mile Freight Planning in the United States" (Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 91, No. 1) Thomas Maxner, Giacomo Dalla Chiara, and Anne Goodchild identified ways cities are planning to reduce emissions from last-mile goods movement.

Inconsistency in Urban Freight Definition

The authors set out to understand the state of sustainable urban last-mile freight planning. Reviewing relevant policy documents published by 58 major U.S. cities, they found that 45 percent of the studied cities considered last-mile freight in sustainability planning. Of those, only 17 intend to dedicate resources toward achieving that goal.

The fundamental issue for all studied cities is an inconsistency in the definition of urban freight. Most of these plans were published in the last five years, with a substantial number published before the rise of e-commerce. The definition and implications of urban freight have changed over time and are inconsistent across cities.

Figure 1: Cities and counties included in planning document scan.

Expedited delivery times and other novel aspects of e-commerce contribute to transportation that is not environmentally friendly. Rush delivery services often use unconsolidated truckloads and more fossil fuel-burning vehicles. The share of consumer products purchased online continues to increase and is projected to represent half of all retail growth by 2025.

The authors claim that companies will ultimately finance the decarbonization of the urban freight industry because they own and operate their fleets. Still, cities can help facilitate the creation of low-emission technologies. The cities' role can include supporting or participating in pilot programs that shift freight methods.

Knowledge and Influence

​​Public planners do not know how many trucks and vans are operating in their cities or where they make deliveries. Few cities have staff dedicated to freight planning, and those that do focus mostly on large trucks.

Cities simply lack the data, knowledge, and resources to manage and plan for urban deliveries. The black box of delivery operations stumps policymakers and makes it difficult for cities to reach, much less influence, the polluting industry.

Pilot programs aimed at lowering emissions will need to rely on city planners and private companies working together. Ultimately, private companies are responsible for introducing new technology. The public sector can sway urban freight toward emissions reduction with public charging, information, and even state– and federally supported grants.

Figure 3: Number of the most recent freight-related long-range planning documents published by U.S. cities.

Opportunities for Action

The authors' findings show that only a small share of cities are prepared to take specific action to address urban freight emissions. Yet, these cities did not allocate resources to the strategies in their planning documents.

Strategies referenced in planning documents include levers in vehicle technology, land use, alternative delivery methods, and enforcement. The most referenced alternative delivery method was cargo bikes.

Replacing vans on delivery routes could also be paired with strategies including microhubs and parcel lockers. A centralized distribution location reduces the number of stops a vehicle makes.

The most cited enforcement strategy was off-peak delivery programs. Anti-idling regulation is another proven and longstanding law in many cities. Some planning documents discuss increased enforcement of existing laws. Low– or zero-emission zones and vehicle size limits could incentivize electrification or downsizing to more efficient fossil fuel vehicles.

All of these strategies require both planning and resource allocation. With most cities in the early stages of planning, city planners can encourage implementation by taking notes from New York City and Seattle, two cities with successful pilot programs for emissions reduction.

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