On July 28, 2017, Laetitia Dablanc, Director of Research at the French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks (IFSTTAR) at University of Paris-Est, presented “Urban freight policy: recent developments on low emission zones, city logistics innovations and urban warehouses in Paris.” This MetroFreight research seminar was part of her activities at USC as a Volvo Research and Educational Foundations visiting scholar. “Dr. Dablanc invested her time in California this summer to move her research into practice by actively disseminating findings and exchanging knowledge with practitioners in search of solutions and best practices,” shared attendee Catherine Showalter, project manager at MetroFreight Center of Excellence. 

A specialist in freight transportation and urban freight and logistics, Dablanc described in her presentation how the city of Paris is promoting sustainable urban logistics and encouraging innovations in urban deliveries.

As with other large cities in the world, Paris is suffering from severe air pollution, Dablanc shared. To tackle this, the municipal government is working with the logistics industry to mitigate the emissions from urban freight. The city recently updated its emission standards for heavy duty vehicles, planned a network of public CNG stations, and reintroduced logistics buildings in the city center.

Despite support from the government, the development of logistics buildings in the core areas has been difficult due to the lengthy administration process and high costs. Urban delivery is another major problem that Paris is attempting to solve. Dablanc's presentation covered new delivery vehicles, intermodal solutions and off-peak delivery programs that have been in practice in Paris. Tech giants including Amazon, UPS and Mercedes-Benz, and many start-ups are actively involved. Newly invented self-driving vehicles, robots and bicycles have already been used to make deliveries on the streets of European and American cities. At the end of the seminar, she emphasized that increasing knowledge and awareness of urban freight planning is highly needed.

About the Author Quan (Jack) Yuan

Quan (Jack) Yuan is a PhD candidate in Planning and Policy Development at Sol Price School of Public Policy, the University of Southern California. His research interests mainly lie in urban transportation planning, parking, freight, and environmental sustainability. He can be reached at [email protected].