Practical solutions for sustainable urban logistics
NEXTLOGIC develops and demonstrates a set of innovative solutions that help cities improve urban logistics, optimise mobility systems and reduce emissions. Co-designed with cities and stakeholders, these solutions are tested in real-world environments to ensure they areeffective, scalable and adaptable to different urban contexts.
Mobile microhubs
Smarter last-mile delivery
Mobile microhubs enable the consolidation of goods at the edge of urban areas, supporting zero-emission last-mile deliveries using cargo bikes and electric vehicles. In practice, these are temporary or flexible logistics hubs where deliveries are transferred from vans to smaller, zero-emission vehicles for the final leg.
They help cities to:
- Reduce delivery traffic in dense urban areas
- Lower emissions and congestion
- Improve efficiency of logistics operations
Within NEXTLOGIC, microhubs are optimised using Digital Twins and tested in real conditions to identify scalable deployment models across different cities.
Smart loading and unloading zones
Dynamic curbside management
Smart loading zones use data and digital tools to optimise the use of curbside space, adapting to real-time demand. These zones use digital systems (e.g. sensors, booking tools or dynamic signage) to manage when and how delivery vehicles can access curbside space.
They allow cities to:
- Reduce illegal parking and congestion
- Improve delivery efficiency
- Better balance competing uses of public space
NEXTLOGIC enhances these solutions through data-driven monitoring and simulation, enabling cities to design flexible and context-specific curbside strategies.
15-minute multimodal hubs
Integrating mobility and logistics
These hubs bring together public transport, shared mobility and urban logistics within accessible neighbourhoods. They are local urban nodes where mobility services and logistics functions are co-located to support daily needs within short distances.
They support cities to:
- Improve accessibility and connectivity
- Integrate freight into urban planning
- Promote more sustainable mobility patterns
In NEXTLOGIC, these hubs are co-designed with stakeholders and evaluated through Digital Twin scenarios to assess their impact on accessibility, logistics and urban space use.
Incentives and reward mechanisms
Encouraging behavioural change
NEXTLOGIC develops incentive-based approaches to encourage more sustainable behaviours among logistics operators and citizens. These can include rewards, pricing schemes or gamified tools that encourage users to adopt more sustainable mobility and delivery practices.
These mechanisms help to:
- Promote compliance with regulations
- Encourage the use of sustainable transport options
- Support long-term behavioural change
These approaches are tested through real-world pilots to understand how behavioural change can complement technological and regulatory measures.
Electrification of Urban Logistics
Supporting zero-emission transport
NEXTLOGIC explores solutions to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in urban logistics, including the integration of charging infrastructure within urban space. This includes planning and deploying charging infrastructure and adapting logistics operations to support electric delivery fleets.
This contributes to:
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- Improved air quality
- Transition towards zero-emission logistics systems
NEXTLOGIC analyses how electrification strategies can be effectively integrated into urban logistics systems, combining infrastructure planning with operational and policy considerations.
Designed for real-world impact
All NEXTLOGIC solutions are co-designed with cities and stakeholders and tested in diverse urban environments.
This ensures they are:
- Adapted to local needs
- Accepted by users and stakeholders
- Scalable and replicable across Europe