Join us in Amsterdam on October 9-11, 2024 for the 2024 Urbanism Next Europe Conference! DISCO will be joining the session titled ‘The Last Mile Challenge: Innovating Urban Freight Deliveries’. Find below the details:
Date: Friday, October 11
Time: 01:45 P.M.-03:15 P.M. CET
Description: Urban logistics has faced unprecedented challenges, such as a surge in e-commerce and accelerated digital transformation. Several research and innovation EU-funded projects (DISCO, GREEN-LOG, UNCHAIN, URBANE) have the ambition to develop and demonstrate innovative solutions to achieve zero emission freight transport, along with several stakeholders like city authorities, universities, and logistics service providers. These experiences enable businesses and cities to test together innovative approaches, such as digital twins, physical Internet-based solutions, zero-emission vehicles to increase efficiency and reduce emissions from the transport sector. The session aims to share ongoing experiences and lessons learnt so far.
The Urbanism Next Europe Conference aims to delve deeper into the effects emerging technologies are having and will continue to have on urban landscapes and communities. Their focus will be on the Urbanism Next Framework and its main themes, including the impact of shared mobility technologies, the transition to public mobility, the ever-growing e-commerce and urban delivery sector, and the anticipated deployment of autonomous vehicles. The conference this year is a partnership between the Urbanism Next Center at the University of Oregon, TU Delft, TNO, and AMS. The conference is also being supported by DISCO partner POLIS, the European Commission, and the American Planning Association.
In April 2024, Dublin will host the 10th biennial Transport Research Arena (TRA) Conference, offering a vibrant platform for mobility professionals to exchange insights, gain inspiration, and stay abreast of advancements in transport. This premier European conference brings together academics, policymakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders for four days of dynamic discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities.
Expect an array of enlightening discussions at #TRA2024, addressing key mobility challenges and showcasing innovative solutions. Expert speakers will delve into four central themes: Safe & Inclusive Transport, Sustainable Mobility of People and Goods, Efficient & Resilient Systems, and Collaborative Digitalization.
Attendance at TRA Conferences typically draws a diverse crowd from across Europe and beyond, with anticipated participation of up to 3,000 attendees from 60 countries, offering over 100 sessions to engage with.
For further details, access the full TRA 2024 Programme here.
DISCO will be featured in two sessions alongside other urban logistics projects, represented by several of our partners:
Special Session 2.3 Innovation in Urban Logistics: Public and Private Sectors Thriving Together
Date: Tuesday, 16 April
Time: 9:45am – 11:am CEST
Location: Hall 8A-3 (Simmonscourt)
This session aims to share lessons learned in urban logistics from EU-funded R&I projects and create a common vision for the use of innovative solutions in zero-emission urban freight transport. The session will feature projects in which city authorities, logistics service providers, and innovation developers are engaged to implement living labs that enable businesses and cities to thrive together. Moreover, it will highlight some of the leading innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable urban freight transport, such as digital twins, Physical Internet, and zero-emission vehicles.
DISCO will be represented by our partners who are featured as panellists:
Poster Session 3.4 Logistics and Sustainable Transport
Date: Tuesday, 16 April
Time: 2;30pm – 3:45pm CEST
Location: Hall 8C – Poster Area Simmonscourt, Stage 4
Our Project Manager Paola Astegiano (FIT Consulting) will participate in this session with a poster on DISCO, sharing an introductory presentation on our project.
Plus, make sure to find DISCO at our partner ALICE’s Innovation Village! The stand will be located close to the European Commission’s stand, ERTRAC’s, CCAM’s & other Partners – Take a look at the venue Floor Plan.
* Updated post-event:
The first webinar of the POLIS – ALICE webinar series 2024 focused on Physical-Internet (PI) innovation, and has been jointly organised by the DISCO and URBANE projects. The webinar has been facilitated by Paola Cossu, with contributions from Bart Lannoo (BE-Mobile) from the DISCO project and Alice Benini (Institute for Transport and Logistics, ITL) from the URBANE project, highlighting the common work of the two projects implementing in real scenarios PI concepts in Bologna and Belgium.
Read more about the event below.
Physical Internet (PI) is a concept for system-thinking of city infrastructures like computing assets that can be provisioned “on-demand” through cloud-like “Infrastructure as a Service” (IaaS) concepts (Franklin et al., 2023). PI proposes pooling resources and assets in open, connected, synchro-modal and shared networks so that they can be used seamlessly by network users and partners.
In a PI environment, real-time freight data sharing and route optimisations become critical tools for operators, allowing swift response to delays, reducing dwell times, and realizing efficiency benefits. PI advocates for greater policy consistency in data-sharing ecosystems, urging city governments to adopt a collaborative, data-driven approach to policymaking and sustainable planning.
In this webinar on 27 March 2024, you will hear current practices that embrace the concept of Physical Internet to increase efficiency while contributing to the decarbonisation of the sector.
The webinar is supported by two ongoing EU-funded projects: DISCO and URBANE.
URBANE, or Upscaling Innovative Green Urban Logistics Solutions Through Multi-Actor Collaboration and Physical Internet (PI)-inspired Last Mile Deliveries, is a HORIZON Europe project that supports the transition path towards effective, resilient, safe and sustainable last-mile transport, through four Lighthouse Living Labs (LL) in Helsinki, Bologna, Valladolid and Thessaloniki. This will facilitated by its URBANE Innovation Transferability Platform comprising Digital Twinning Tools, open models, smart contracts governed by blockchain technology and a data-driven Impact Assessment Radar.
12:00 Welcome & introduction to the workshop, Paola Cossu, Co-Chair of the ALICE TG on Urban logistics
12:05 The URBANE Living Lab in Bologna, Alice Benini – Project manager at the Institute for Transport and Logistics (ITL)
12:20 Business representative (tbc)
12:35 Open discussion and Q&A from the audience, Paola Cossu
12:55 Wrap up and next steps, Raffaele Vergnani, Urban Freight Cluster Lead at POLIS
A strategic discussion has been in place between POLIS and ALICE since 2019, which has resulted in a strong and well-recognised alliance between the two organisations over the years. The common vision of this venture is to support each other’s members to accelerate the transition as fast as and as effectively as possible by continuous gathering and sharing of initiatives, and networking activities facilitating collaboration. Both organizations want to be at the forefront of urban transformation, proactively addressing issues with pollution, traffic, safety, and the environment through urban freight and logistics.
Across the series, governance, technology, planning, incentive schemes and more are explored. It is a chance to learn how public-private partnerships are being deployed in novel ways to leverage cutting-edge digital technologies and data-sharing mechanisms. It will also provide an opportunity to hear about new concepts and opportunities between ongoing EU-funded projects and initiatives.
Most of the webinars in this series are reserved exclusively for POLIS and ALICE members, with a select few open to the public.