Urban logistics: how can it meet policy makers' sustainability objectives?

This paper discusses how urban freight activity can function such that it meets the urban sustainability objectives policy makers are now beginning to implement. It considers: the importance of urban freight transport in maintaining the economic vitality of the city; the negative impacts that it imposes; the concept of urban sustainability and the development of sustainability strategies; and the means and measures by which freight transport could be made more sustainable. It presents results from a project that investigated the current freight transport operations of seven different companies in three urban areas in the UK. The potential operational, financial and environmental effects of four policy measures on these operations are considered.

The Crisis in the UK's High Streets: can the evening and night-time economy help?

Changes in retailing over the last half century have had a detrimental effect on the UK’s local high streets. The recession of 2008-2012 exacerbated these trends leading to a high number of vacancies and neglected properties. The impact was sufficiently severe for the term ‘crisis’ to be used in connection with the British high street. In the academic and commercial reports generated by the recognition that the high street needed to adapt to changing circumstances, a view emerged that the leisure component of high street activity would gain in importance. This article reviews the relationship of the evening and nighttime economy to the high street and considers its potential in reinventing the vitality that is normally associated with these mixed-use urban corridors. The article argues that there is hope in the high street offering a different type of experience to the mainstream forms of entertainment that are consolidating in major town and city centres. It concludes by suggesting that for this to be successful, some public support is necessary.