Professionals, policy makers and researchers from the field of urban planning and freight transport discuss latest examples of development from the city of Paris.

On 26th of May 2016 a symposium on Innovative Urban Freight Management Systems has been organised in Paris by the CITYLAB project in cooperation with the SUCCESS project.

The event took place in the Pavillon Arsenal in Paris and brought together around eighty professionals, policy makers and researchers from the field of urban planning and freight transport to discuss latest examples of development from the city of Paris and ideas how to improve the urban distribution in the French capital which faces big challenges due to its high urban density and large daily flows of persons and goods coming to and leaving the city.

Jean Louis Missika, Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning, welcomed the participants and introduced to the event explaining the work currently going on for the establishment of the second Paris Charter for Sustainable Logistics (Charte de logistique urbaine durable) and willingness of the city of Paris to be free of Diesel vehicles by 2020.

After this introduction, the two H2020 projects CITYLAB and SUCCESS were presented. Jardar Andersen from the Institute of Transport Economics (TOI, Norway) and project coordinator of CITYLAB gave a short overview of the seven pilot sites of the project and explained the objective to improve freight distribution and service trips in urban areas and to develop measures and tools for emission-free city logistics in urban centres by 2030.

IMAG0029_BURST001The SUCCESS project followed and David Evaristo, Transport & Logistics programme manager at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST, Luxembourg) and project coordinator, presented SUCCESS – an exceptional project on urban freight because of its focus on the construction sector and the objective to improve the construction supply chain by reducing the negative impacts, improving the existing transport infrastructures as well as the level of cooperation and coordination among all the stakeholders of the supply chain and by developing reusable methods and tools.

The second part of the morning session consisted of two presentations held by Hervé Levifve, Paris Deputy Mayor for Transport representative: “Paris Charter for Sustainable Logistics” and “Logistics, urban planning and architecture – Paris innovations”. These were followed by a round table on the topic of “Paris as a living lab for urban freight”. Hervé Levifve, Elisabeth Charrier, National Federation of Road Transport (FNTR), and Christophe Ripert, Sogaris, presented their way of working together on the Paris Charter for Sustainable Logistics and discussed issues such as the feasibility of a city of Paris without any Diesel vehicles by 2020, topic raised by the Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning in his opening speech in the morning. Furthermore, they also tackled topics such as the need of more spaces, buildings or sites dedicated to urban logistics use.

For the afternoon, participants could choose between another theoretical session on “Success factors from past urban freight initiatives and potential for CO2 reduction” held by Mike Browne from the University of Gothenburg or three site visits:

Pilot site of SUCCESS: The Îlot Fontenoy-Ségur complex is currently under construction. VINCI Construction France, partner of the SUP1010664CCESS project, will deliver the Fontenoy part
(10,000m²) in June 2016 and Ségur (45,000m²) in August 2017 to its client. The pilot consists of the renovation of two edifices which have been physically linked to create a single business-oriented complex with 2,300 offices, a 450-seater auditorium, a press room but also with a childcare centre, a sports hall, restaurants and green spaces. The total estimated building cost is 145 million euros. The total number of deliveries is estimated at 4,500, comprising around 15,000 packages. Delivery areas and storage spaces have been extended onto public roads for a 30-month period. Click here for more information.

Pilot site of CITYLAB: Chapelle International is a 45,000m2 is a model for logistical zones and facilities appropriate for dense urban environments, called ‘logistics hotels’, the first one of its kind in Paris. Currently in its building phase, it is due to start operating in September 2017. Chapelle international will accommodate two levels of logistics activities, one for freight rail and the other one for freight road operations. It will combine logistics with other activities (offices, school, urban farming, data centre).

Beaugrenelle urban logistics terminal has been in operation since 2012 as a Chronopost parcel/express transport logistics hub in the centre of Paris. This 3,000m2 building was originally a car park. It is a fascinating architectural example of a new urban logistics building, from the conversion of a building made for a more traditional urban activity.

Click here to find all presentations.