by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Today, it is difficult for consumers to make sense of the many labels on the environmental performance of products (goods and services) and companies. Some environmental claims are unreliable, and consumer trust is extremely low. Consumers can be misled, and companies can give a false impression of their environmental impacts or benefits – a practice …
The pedestrian is not getting anywhere in Amsterdam. The new policy framework, Space for the Pedestrian, which should create more pedestrian space, applies only to new situations. Pedestrians will end up with less space, structurally. Citywide, the rules for HoReCa terraces, store displays, shared scooters and bikes, and other objects on the sidewalk will not …
The car-free pilot on Weesperstraat (‘de knip’) will become the watershed in Amsterdam’s mobility policy. Last week in the City Council debate, it became clear again how the pilot with the knip continues to divide Amsterdammers and that a genuine vision is lacking. Everything was dragged into the debate by the alderman and council members. …
Professionals refer to the ‘theory’ of disappearing traffic in the recent debate about major traffic interventions. After traffic interventions, traffic magically evaporates. What do we know about this theory? A study (by Cairns, Hass-Klau, and Goodwin from 1998) sought to identify possible case studies of circumstances where road space had been reallocated, whether due to …
Cities are setting up pilots to make parts of their cities car-free. How do we prevent businesses from falling 3:0 behind right from the start? The Amsterdam Weesperstraat is closed to car traffic for six weeks. It is a pilot to see how the city can become car-free. What can the business community do now …
Genuine innovations in city logistics are about sharing. Sharing capacities, vehicles, data, energy, and people. That should start happening in zero-emission city hubs, local neighborhood hubs, and with waterborne transport. Simple, right? But, those innovations often stumble over the distribution of joys and burdens. The public-private revenue models behind them are not obvious (and profitable). …
Local authorities have five roles in city logistics: regulate and enforce, facilitate, stimulate, coordinate, and experiment. What eight elements should be in every city logistics plan? Those plans should provide clear guidance for companies in, for example, construction, facilities, parcel, service logistics, and circular flows; what is in store for them? What problems do you …
Though less than 4% of vehicles on the road are trucks, it is estimated that they are responsible for 27% of road transport’s CO2 emissions. As urbanization grows, absolute population numbers and population density continue to rise in cities. Consequently, urban commercial transport is also increasing, exacerbating congestion and harmful emissions. Action is needed to …
The logistics sector must be net zero by 2050. But all measures proposed will create an uneven playing field with selective access to logistics capabilities, people, money, data, and energy. So how will transport companies survive? I was asked to lecture on sustainability for a group of CEOs from European transport companies. I hyperventilated. What …
