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Apart from the challenges related to vehicle technology, the wide-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in cities is linked to unprecedented opportunities and unforeseen impacts. These refer to mobility conditions, infrastructure, land use, wider socio-economic factors, energy use and environmental and climate effects. AVs may affect all these in positive or negative ways, promoting or obstructing the promotion of specific aspects of sustainable urban development. An integrated planning framework is needed to maximise the positive impacts and mitigate the negative ones. The main obstacle in the process of developing such a framework is the absence of empirical data and experience from the implementation of this emerging technology. This chapter outlines the possible impacts of AVs and discusses their uncertainty and trade-offs in relation to sustainable urban development. The categorisation of impacts derives from the priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The chapter also highlights the lack of data for the development of an evidence-based planning approach and suggests relevant recommendations to planners. In contrast to the current lack of data, the future abundance of Big Data collected by autonomous road transport systems is discussed in the context of future urban planning purposes. Based on the above, the chapter concludes by stressing the importance of an integrated urban transport planning approach that ensures a positive contribution of AVs to sustainable urban development. Hence, it offers valuable recommendations for policymakers in a range of fields.

Many countries and regions have recognised the potential of automated transport as a solution to cover mobility needs in a sustainable way. They have implemented dedicated strategies and allowed trial operations of Automated Vehicles (AVs) within their national frameworks.

This chapter conducts an analysis of the legal frameworks for AV trial operations in 11 European countries. It reviews existing laws and regulations and includes results from an online survey with national stakeholders and experts experienced in AV testing.

The results reveal very different approaches among European countries. Moreover, results indicate a stronger focus on technical safety aspects of the vehicles rather than on operational procedures and mobility integration, such as incorporating AV services into existing public transport systems.

This high level of disparity between the different European legal frameworks poses a considerable barrier to a rollout of the technologies and methodologies for AVs without cross-border and cross-supplier conflicts. Furthermore, when moving to the deployment of real services in the near future a common European framework and a stronger focus on operational procedures are essential for the implementation of automated transport services in order to cover the mobility needs of people in a more sustainable way (e.g. first/last mile to public transport).

European countries should further integrate operational aspects in the terms of services that are integrated in public transport, align deployment of AVs with national and local sustainability goals and focus on use cases beyond private vehicles to foster the transition to a more sustainable future of transport.

The small air transport (SAT) domain is gaining increasing interest over the past decade, based on its perspective relevance in enabling efficient travel over a regional range, by exploiting small airports and fixed wing aircraft with up to 19 seats (EASA CS-23 category). To support its wider adoption, it is needed to enable single pilot operations.

An integrated mission management system (IMMS) has been designed and implemented, able to automatically optimize the aircraft path by considering trajectory optimization needs. It takes into account both traffic scenario and weather actual and forecasted condition and is also able to select best destination airport, should pilot incapacitation occur during flight. As part of the IMMS, dedicated evolved tactical separation system (Evo-TSS) has been designed to provide elaboration of both surrounding and far located traffic and subsequent traffic clustering, to support the trajectory planning/re-planning by the IMMS.

The Clean Sky 2-funded project COAST (Cost Optimized Avionics SysTem) successfully designed and validated through flight demonstrations relevant technologies enabling affordable cockpit and avionics and supporting single pilot operations for SAT vehicles. These technologies include the TSS in its baseline and evolved versions, included in the IMMS.

This paper describes the TSS baseline version and the basic aspects of the Evo-TSS design. It is aimed to outline the implementation of the Evo-TSS dedicated software in Matlab/Simulink environment, the planned laboratory validation campaign and the results of the validation exercises in fast-time Matlab/Simulink environment, which were successfully concluded in 2023.

Rapid technological change in the transport sector is leading to a growing range of potential and actual ‘business models’ deployable for the movement of goods and people. Two key uncertainties arise from this proliferation: first, concerning which ones can be economically viable, and, second, whether they can be both simultaneously economically viable and contribute to the imperatives of more sustainable mobility. The present chapter reviews and appraises the emergence of these new business models, drawing on both literature review and empirical research with entrepreneurs involved in the new mobility sector. Specifically, the potential of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, n.d.) as a device to structure and frame the debate about what constitutes a valuable contribution to sustainable mobility is considered. A framework is developed which captures how mobility and transport have dependencies with the SDGs. From this analysis, key sustainability concepts are derived which have either a subsistence function (maintaining the basics of human life) or an enhancement function (enabling citizens to realise their potential whilst reducing impacts on the planet). Five different innovations involving mobility sector business entrepreneurship are then characterised using this framework to exemplify its ability to deconstruct and test claims that ‘smart mobility’ is also good for sustainability as well as good for business. It is concluded that the framework could contribute to a wider architecture of sustainability interrogation. It could promote discourse around a wide range of actors, posing questions and surfacing tensions and contingencies effectively, whilst providing a holistic, strategic assessment to inform more targeted, scientific evaluations of sustainability metrics.

The massive investment in, and development of, automated and connected transport (ACT) technology development has triggered much debate about this breakthrough technology’s potential positive and negative impacts. Multiple studies have explored the potential direct implications for users in terms of road safety, ‘productive’ travel time, mobility of the elderly and physically less mobile persons, as well as indirect impacts such as reduced emissions and freed road space. Through a critical review of the literature on ACT deployment types and discussions with an expert working group on the wider impacts of ACT implementation, this chapter examines four distinct deployment types of ACT technology and their opportunities and threats in transitioning toward inclusive transport systems. Of the four types, we posit that ACT-based public transport has the greatest potential to contribute to a more inclusive mobility future. Examining the case of Singapore using policy documents, academic literature and interviews with representatives of public and private sectors and academia, the chapter draws policy recommendations for governance toward more inclusive ACT innovation and deployment.

To delve into the integration of global logistics and supply chain networks amidst the digital transformation era. This study aims to investigate the potential role of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in facilitating the integration of global flows encompassing both tangible goods and intangibles. Additionally, the study seeks to incorporate third-party logistics activities into a comprehensive global logistics and supply chain integration framework.

Prior research is synthesised into a global logistics and supply chain integration framework. A case study was undertaken on Yuan Tong (YTO) express group to investigate the framework, employing qualitative data analysis techniques. The study specifically examined the context of the BRI to enhance comprehension of its impact on global supply chains. Information was collected in particular to two types of supply chain flows, the physical flow of goods, and intangible information and cash flows.

The proposed framework aligns well with the case study, leading to the identification of global logistics and supply chain integration enablers. The results demonstrate a range of ways BRI promotes global logistics and supply chain integration.

The case study, with multiple examples, focuses on how third-party logistics firms can embrace global logistics and supply chain integration in line with BRI. The case study approach limits generalisation, further applications in different contexts are required to validate the findings.

The framework holds promise for aiding practitioners and researchers in gaining deeper insights into the role of the BRI in global logistics and supply chain integration within the digital era. The identified enablers underscore the importance of emphasising key factors necessary for success in navigating digital transformation within global supply chains.

Early studies projected potential societal, economic and environmental benefits by the widespread deployment of Autonomous and Connected Transport (ACT) promising a significant reduction of transport costs and improvement in road safety. An effective way of assessing ACT impact is via simulations, where results are largely affected by the scenarios defining the ACT development. However, modelled scenarios are very diverse due to the huge uncertainty in ACT development and deployment. This chapter aims to shed light on the different ACT simulation scenarios and sustainability aspects that should be considered while developing or reporting the simulation results. To this end, this chapter discusses the various simulation approaches, what the required (or the typically utilised) pipelines are, and how some components are more important or less important than in ‘classic’ modelling and simulation approaches. Special focus is dedicated to the uncertainty related to ACT operational parameters and how these will impact transport modelling. To address said uncertainty, an analysis of current approaches to scenario building is provided, as the chapter guides the reader through different methodologies and clusters them in relation to the desired indicators. Finally, the chapter identifies and proposes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are useful when applying simulation tools to assess ACT scenarios. These KPIs can be used for simulation scenario development to test particular sustainability aspects of ACT deployment and relevant policies.

The document underscores the need for systematic smart mobility policies to advance smart cities, addressing resource waste and environmental issues. Recognizing challenges in adopting efficient smart mobility, the paper seeks to fill a literature gap by identifying governance-related best practices and success factors. The objective is to develop a clear framework for smart mobility adoption with policy implications, especially for Euro-Mediterranean (EuroMed) Smart Cities, reducing congestion and costs while promoting sustainability through data-driven decision-making and integration models.

To conduct the study, we adopt a multiple-case approach, examining different smart mobility applications in three of the world's most relevant smart city contexts according to international rankings, namely New York, Copenhagen and Singapore. Starting with the framework emerging from the research sample, which is representative of three different continents and cultures, a comparative assessment is then made with two EuroMed Smart Cities, highlighting their relative gaps.

The paper presents an innovative framework for smart mobility that highlights five key success factors. In addition to highlighting related gaps with a sample of EuroMed Smart Cities, it offers guidelines and implications for administrators, policy makers and mobility managers.

This success framework is a powerful tool, framework and guideline with numerous theoretical and managerial implications. Indeed, it directs policymakers, policymakers and mobility managers toward creating innovative business models for sustainable smart mobility, maximizing the efficiency of the centralized urban system, reducing negative externalities, breaking down barriers and pursuing greater efficiency, resilience and equity in the accessibility, mobility and sustainable livability of smart cities.

The application of lean and quality improvement methods is very common in process improvement projects at organisational levels. The purpose of this research is to assess the adoption of Lean Six Sigma™ approaches for addressing a complex process-related issue in the coal industry.

The sticky coal problem was investigated from the perspective of process-related issues. Issues were addressed using a blended Lean value stream of supply chain interfaces and waste minimisation through the Six Sigma™ DMAIC problem-solving approach, taking into consideration cross-organisational processes.

It was found that the tendency to “solve the problem” at the receiving location without communication to the upstream was, and is still, a common practice that led to the main problem of downstream issues. The application of DMAIC Six Sigma™ helped to address the broader problem. The overall operations were improved significantly, showing the reduction of sticky coal/wagon hang-up in the downstream coal handling terminal.

The Lean Six Sigma approaches were adopted using DMAIC across cross-organisational supply chain processes. However, blending Lean and Six Sigma methods needs to be empirically tested across other sectors.

The proposed methodology, using a framework of Lean Six Sigma approaches, could be used to guide practitioners in addressing similar complex and recurring issues in the manufacturing sector.

This research introduces a novel approach to process analysis, selection and contextualised improvement using a combination of Lean Six Sigma™ tools, techniques and methodologies sustained within a supply chain with certified ISO 9001 quality management systems.