New episode of the MED COLOURS column dedicated to the topic of resilient and sustainable urban logistics. Once a month, we suggest articles, insights and studies of particular interest to the topics related to the project, with the aim of increasing knowledge related to the topics, and stimulating debate and knowledge exchange, which are essential ingredients for the achievement of our project goals.
This month’s focuse is on: what are the key challenges and oopportunities in improving local last-mile delivery?
The report “Last Mile Delivery – Challenges and Opportunities” by CIHT dives into how UK cities can address growing pressures on #UrbanFreight through better regulation, design, and innovation. Among the main challenges identified:
- Limited kerbside access
- Outdated planning frameworks
- Increasing congestion
- And fragmented coordination across sectors.
At the same time, the report highlights opportunities to improve operations, like:
- Reallocating street space
- Enabling night-time deliveries
- Expanding out-of-home delivery infrastructure
- Adopting Zero Emission solutions.
A coordinated approach involving planners, logistics operators, local authorities, and #technology providers is essential to unlock smarter, cleaner and more inclusive delivery ecosystems. These insights resonate strongly with the MED COLOURS project, which is working to overcome similar barriers in the Euro-Med region through 6 real-life pilot actions and strategic planning for sustainable urban logistics. Smarter last-mile logistics mean less traffic, lower emissions, and better quality of life for urban residents. That’s exactly the vision we’re building across our partner cities.
Explore the full report by CIHT here.
