Liveability and freight transport in urban areas: the example of the Calabria Region for City Logistics

The freight transport in urban areas is a central theme in the studies of the last 20 years due to the increase of expenditure that influences the freight demand and the number of vehicles for their distribution. Notwithstanding its negative impact on city sustainability and liveability is usually overlooked by policy-makers. The Calabria Region has created a virtuous way for the freight distribution in urban areas, as part of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) by means of the dedicated measure 2.5 City Logistics. This measure indicates how to make freight distribution more efficient by specific interventions. The aim is to increase liveability and to obtain convergence of different interests of the actors involved, as citizens, public sector, retailers, and couriers, oriented to UN and EU targets and according to the RTP. This paper presents the experience of the Calabria Region related to City Logistics, as a prototypal process from planning, to programming and executing. This process includes a technical-administrative path developed with specific training activities involving all stakeholders realizing an integrated approach between different administrations with different roles in urban logistics projects. The process aims to create special urban areas where freight vehicles traffic is controlled through regulatory, management and infrastructural interventions, as time windows, upgrading fleets with environmentally vehicles, ICT/ITS, Urban Distribution Centers, Nearby Delivery Areas. The traffic control and management support the measures for COVID 19 emergency to ensure social distancing.