How Local Authority Decision Makers Address Freight Transport in the Urban Area

Abstract

Freight transport in urban areas is not as efficient as it could be. Since freight transport has a large proportion of emissions from traffic, this is an area that needs to be addressed by all actors involved. Freight transport has in recent years gained a more important role in urban planning in large cities in Europe. However, the medium and small cities also need to address the problem in the decision making process. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how Swedish small and medium sized cities deal with urban freight transport and to frame the problem of urban freight transport planning from a local authority perspective. Interviews with and questionnaires to decision makers are the basis for the evaluation of the possibilities for countering the challenge. City logistic schemes implemented in a large city are not always suitable for a smaller city and maybe not even for another city of the same size. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. A process planning model is presented based on the results, which is a practical tool for local authority decision makers in their planning process, but it is also a theoretical contribution, valuable for future research in urban freight transport planning studies.