Urban Freight in “Car-Free” Cities - Opportunities & Barriers in Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract

Cities today suffer from congestion, poor air quality and noise pollution due to motorised vehicles in urban areas. The infrastructure related to these vehicles use a large portion of cities’ already limited space, leading to the decay of public spaces. This has led city authorities to implement restrictions to vehicle movements. This thesis investigates the car-free city phenomenon, urban logistics solutions to its restrictions, and the perceived opportunities and barriers to them by municipal agencies in Gothenburg, Sweden, that would likely be responsible for its implementation. This was achieved through group interviews with said municipal agencies. Results from the group interviews were subsequently compared to the literature. There was a considerable overlap between identified opportunities and barriers and those found in the literature. Key points identified were the opportunities for improving urban areas, citizen health, freight, and city life, as well as important considerations like exemptions for different categories, like emergency services, freight, and the disabled, as well as safe walkable areas for pedestrians and cyclists. Barriers to a car-free adapted logistics solution were identified, with urban rail, modal shift, and electric delivery vehicles, having slower comparative speed due to modal shift, limited flexibility, as well as limited capacity in some electric delivery vehicles.