Title: Freight villages and urban goods distribution: perspectives of freight transport operators, experts, and policymakers from multi-criteria decision analysis

Authors: Beatriz Alves De Senna; Lílian Dos Santos Fontes Pereira Bracarense; Leise Kelli De Oliveira; Renata Lúcia Magalhães De Oliveira

Addresses: Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Tocantins, Brazil ' Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Tocantins, Brazil ' Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil ' Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract: A freight village is an option to reduce the externalities of urban freight transport and improve the efficiency of this activity. In this sense, its location is a factor in the accomplishment of the benefits promoted by city logistics solutions. This paper evaluates the use of freight villages for urban goods distribution. We used a multi-criteria decision analysis to identify the viewpoints of stakeholders involved in this solution (carriers, experts and policymakers). We applied this method to a case study in the city of Palmas, Brazil. The results indicate that there are different perspectives on the relevance of the criteria analysed, reinforcing the need for dialogue and participation of various stakeholders in the planning of urban freight transport, to encourage logistical solutions consistent with the requirements of urban freight transport.

Keywords: urban freight transport; urban distribution centre; freight village; freight cluster; multi-criteria decision analysis; analytic hierarchy process; stakeholders.

DOI: 10.1504/WRITR.2021.113483

World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, 2021 Vol.10 No.1, pp.30 - 45

Received: 28 Mar 2019
Accepted: 10 Jan 2020
Published online: 08 Mar 2021 *