URBAN GOODS MOVEMENT REVISITED

It can be argued that in the field of transportation, our understanding of goods movement in the urban environment is comparatively weak. A recent special issue of Scientific American dealt specifically with transportation, yet only one article was directly related freight or goods transportation. This fact may support the contention that the majority of urban transportation research efforts are directed at furthering our understanding of the processes and patterns of people movement. The primary goal of this paper is to address this lack of understanding by revisiting the topic of urban goods movement. The use of the term is based on two arguments: (1) research interest in this area is comparatively low at this point in time, although that wasn't always the case and (2) there has been tremendous change in freight transportation (both urban and regional) over the last ten years and an urgent need to revisit the topic exists.