Urban Freight Lab

Little Free Pantries operate on a simple idea: take what you need, leave what you can. But because these pantries are decentralized and community-run, it can be difficult to know when a pantry needs restocking or where donations are needed most.

The Daily highlights PantryMap, an Urban Freight Lab project that combines community reporting, mapping tools, and low-cost sensors to help make pantry activity more visible in real time.

The goal is simple: make it easier for communities to connect available food with people who need it.

UW researchers map Little Free Pantries UW researchers map Little Free Pantries

"We're talking about free food, but people still pay." Not at the checkout counter, but in time, distance, and the effort it takes to access what they need.

Seattle's network of little free pantries helps reduce those barriers every day, but without clear data, it is difficult to see where and what support is needed most.

Our senior research scientist Giacomo Dalla Chiara is featured in The Seattle Times sharing how supply chain logistics can help make that network more visible and distribute resources effectively. Our PantryMap tool is part of that work, providing volunteers, donors, and neighbors with a way to post photos of their donations, share wish lists, and track inventory levels in real time, showing exactly how food moves through the city and where the gaps are.

A huge thank you to National Science Foundation (NSF) and our partners who make this work possible:
Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
University of Washington School of Public Health
Global Innovation Exchange
Ridwell
Sustainable Connections
University District Food Bank
Cascade Bicycle Club
Washington State Department of Health

The full story: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/in-seattle-using-the-power-of-data-to-fight-the-problem-of-hunger/

How much can curbside space change last-mile delivery in dense cities?

New York City is testing that question through a Microhub Pilot.

The NYC DOT pilot brings together a range of delivery operators, including Urban Freight Lab members Amazon and Net Zero Logistics. Using small, dedicated curbside spaces, the program shifts deliveries from trucks to cargo bikes, handcarts, and smaller electric vehicles for the last leg of delivery.

In its first year, the pilot helped replace more than 3,000 truck trips on city streets. Early data also suggests reductions in vehicle miles traveled and more efficient use of limited curb space, especially in high-density neighborhoods like Manhattan’s Financial District and the Upper East Side.

At the Urban Freight Lab, we have explored similar ideas through the Seattle Neighborhood Delivery Hub, testing how shared delivery space can support more efficient last-mile operations in dense neighborhoods.

Microhubs are one of several strategies cities are testing to improve urban freight. Alongside lockers and other last-mile delivery solutions, they offer a practical way to reduce truck traffic while making better use of limited curb and street space.

Microhubs Reduced More Than 3,000 Truck Trips on New York City Streets, Applications Open for Pilot's Second Phase New data shows local delivery hubs help shift deliveries from trucks to smaller and more sustainable forms of transportation

How should transportation agencies manage the growing range of new mobility services operating in public space?

As the use of ride-hailing, micromobility, microtransit, and goods delivery continues to grow, public agencies are balancing competing demands on public space and infrastructure funding.

When should these services pay for access to the right-of-way? When does it make sense to support them with subsidies or other incentives? And how do revenue tools influence the kinds of mobility systems that are being developed?

Our new report, Revenue-Related Tools for New Mobility, developed with ECOnorthwest and Cityfi for Transportation Research Board's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), looks at how agencies evaluate fees, taxes, pricing strategies, and subsidies for new mobility services.

The report is designed to help agencies work through tradeoffs in implementation as they decide how to price services, when to support them through subsidies or other incentives, and how those choices shape outcomes in practice.

Read the report: https://urbanfreightlab.com/publications/revenue-related-tools-for-new-mobility/