Despite extensive research on e-commerce’s impacts on last-mile logistics and sustainability, there has been limited focus on evaluating urban freight through an equity lens. To address this gap, a recent study introduces a modeling framework designed to help researchers and planners estimate the baseline equity performance of a major e-commerce platform and assess the equity impacts of potential urban freight management strategies. The study also analyzes how various operational decisions can influence efforts to reduce bias in the analysis.
The model incorporates empirical approaches from activity-based modeling, transport equity evaluation, and residential freight trip generation (RFTG) to estimate delivery demand and cargo van traffic exposure at the person and household levels across 41 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).
The study evaluates 12 metrics across different population segments and spatial units, revealing significant racial and socio-economic inequities in last-mile delivery, particularly affecting low-income groups and people of color (POC). Even by the most conservative measure, POC are exposed to approximately 35% more cargo van traffic than white populations despite placing fewer than half as many orders. A scenario analysis illustrates the model’s potential, showing that strategies focusing on line-haul efficiency improvements offer only marginal equity gains compared to those that improve intra-neighborhood circulation.
This study represents the first effort to develop a modeling framework that will support more equitable decision-making in last-mile delivery operations and urban planning.
Also read: Research: seeking equity and justice in city logistics planning