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21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

United States - European Commission Urban Freight Twinning Initiative: Compendium of Project Summaries, Volume II
Overview of 2018-2019 International Urban Freight Roundtables

Effective Decision-Making Methods for Freight-Efficient Land Use

The main goal of this project is to design procedures and analytical techniques that help land use planners and policymakers implement freight-efficient land use policies. Freight-Efficient Land Uses (FELUs) are defined as the land use patterns that minimize the private and external costs, i.e., social costs, associated with the economic activities that consume and produce goods at all stages of production and consumption, including reverse and waste logistics. Furthermore, freight activity is pervasive as it takes place in the entire metropolitan area, not only at the most visible generators such as intermodal terminals, large manufacturing sites, and commercial centers. The project aims to study freight activities of all sectors and the location choice of the establishments to understand their dynamics. Decision-support tools will be developed to assess the impact of land use policies on land use and freight activities.

Project Type

Research.

Period of Performance

April 2017 - December 2019.

Project Site

Guidebook is written in an American-based context.

Contact

José Holguín-Veras
Professor
Rensselaer Polytechnic University
Troy, New York
JHV@rpi.edu
(518) 276-6221

Topics Addressed

  • Air quality/environment.
  • Economic competitiveness.
  • Energy consumption.
  • Land use interaction.
  • Last mile delivery.
  • Livability/quality of life.
  • Logistics/distribution.
  • Mobility/congestion.
  • Supply chains.

Expected Outcomes

The project will result in:

  • A guide to quantify and evaluate the impact of land use practices and policies to support efficient movement of all modes of freight; and
  • Decision-support tools to assist local, regional, and state land-use and transportation decision-makers to support efficient movement of freight.

Stakeholder Involvement

The stakeholders include land use planners, local and State elected officials, locally appointed officials (planning commissions and board of zoning appeals), remonstrators, constituents, courts, developers, and economic development officials. Practitioners engaged during the research process include land use planners, local and State officials, and researchers, among others.

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