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United States-European Commission Urban Freight Twinning Initiative: Compendium of Project Summaries
Overview of Second Annual Urban Freight Roundtable at 2017 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting


Policy

Design, Capacity, and Location of Urban Freight Infrastructure in an Integrated Mobility Plan for Santiago de Chile

MIT supported a remodeling plan for downtown Santiago de Chile by providing a data-driven freight perspective to the government's integrated mobility plan for the remodeling effort. The goal of the remodeling plan is to make the downtown a more livable, safe, healthy, and less congested neighborhood.

MIT developed a novel approach to using spatial queuing theory in infrastructure planning and design to inform public decisionmaking regarding:

  • The capacity, type, and location of freight-specific parking infrastructure to be created.
  • The design of local freight regulations (e.g., time-, vehicle-type- and location-based access restrictions) to support the efficient use of such infrastructure.

This effort was informed by delivery-intensity data collected through surveys and observation, as well as vehicle Global Positioning System (GPS) data from several vendors.

map of downtown Santiago de Chile, showing the locations of fixed and flexible dedicated freight parking bays

Optimal locations of fixed and flexible, dedicated freight parking bays in downtown Santiago de Chile.
Source: MIT Megacity Logistics Lab.

Project Type

Research

Period of Performance

August 2015 - December 2016

Project Site(s)

Santiago, Chile

Website

megacitylab.mit.edu

Contact

Matthias Winkenbach
Director
MIT Megacity Logistics Lab Center for Transportation & Logistics
(857) 253-1639
MWinkenb@mit.edu

Challenges Addressed

  • Urban freight parking infrastructure
  • Logistics
  • Regulation

Key Outcomes

The research provided local researchers and government officials with the necessary quantitative tools to accomplish two objectives:

  1. Assess the need for freight-dedicated parking infrastructure in downtown Santiago de Chile.
  2. Develop a corresponding plan for the creation of such infrastructure to serve as an important input for the government's integrated mobility plan for the neighborhood.

This plan will align with other regional freight and modal transportation planning efforts. It will also provide a framework to measure progress and identify trade-offs for the region.

Stakeholder Involvement

This project was part of a joint research effort with the Chilean Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

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