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Chapter Seven turns to what will be characterised as operational risks/uncertainties. The associated concept of strategic risks/uncertainties introduced in Chapter Six, is somewhat arbitrary as many risks and uncertainties fit into both categories. Further, a precise demarcation is not practically possible. Nevertheless, for purposes of introduction it is a helpful distinction.

Although it might be an overstatement, here operational risks/uncertainties do seem to offer greater opportunities for quantifiable measurement. This is simply because many operational functions are repetitive, offer numerous contexts where data can be gathered, and observations can lead to useful predictions of future outcomes. Supplementing individual organisation observations with sector-wide data is more possible as well. This is not to say that human factors do not matter, they most certainly do. Subjectivity also matters; but it remains the case that operational activity does present the better chance for measurement.

As with Chapters Five and Six, alternative perspectives are presented, and the complex adaptive systems idea reappears in relation to the processes by which operational risks/uncertainties are assessed and analysed.

Urban logistics pooling is seen as a serious alternative to imposed urban consolidation centers. However, such strategies are quite new in urban distribution and merit to be evaluated using adapted methods that take into account the group decision nature of resource pooling. This chapter aims to propose, via an experimental collaborative decision support method, to define a grid of indicators and a reference situation database to measure the sustainable performance of urban logistics pooling systems.

The proposed methodology combines a systematic literature analysis of Key Performance Indicators and a group decision support method to choose a suitable set to define a dashboard. First, we identify the main sustainability indicators from an overview of the literature, and class them into the categories of the 4As Sustainable Transport vision (i.e., Awareness, Act and shift, Avoidance, and Anticipation). Then, a group of 20 experts is solicited for an iterative experimental group decision-making method to converge to the concordance of a set of indicators.

The method allowed us to define a hierarchic dashboard agreed by all experts with seven main indicators and nine secondary indicators. Moreover, the experts signaled the need of defining a unified basis of comparison to estimate initial situations. To do this, we proposed a database of urban routes from the French Surveys on Urban Goods Transport.

The proposed dashboard is an example, and to provide a more unified one, the experience has to be iterated using different groups of decision-makers.

This method has the advantage of proposing a dashboard agreed by all involved stakeholders. Therefore, this chapter shows the patterns to reproduce it since the method is able to be replicated in any context of group decision in urban logistics.

The originality of the chapter arises on the use of an experimental group decision method using a group with a majority of practitioners, and to validate it by consensus.

Studies repeatedly have found social disparities of health at many levels of spatial aggregation. A second body of empirical research, demonstrating relationships between an area's racial and class composition and its environmental conditions, has led to the rise of an environmental justice movement. However, few studies have connected these two sets of findings to ask whether social disparities in health outcomes are due to local environmental disparities. This chapter investigates whether the association between racial and socioeconomic composition and multiple health conditions across New York City zip codes is partly mediated by neighborhood physical, built, and social environments.

Over the last decades, freight networks and multimodal integration have been shaped by complex driving forces. Globalisation and consumerism in society significantly contributed to intensify the demand for services in freight transport. Technological breakthroughs and the related development of innovation fed the constant search for faster and cheaper services on a global scale. Altogether, these driving forces have boosted a rapid increase in the volume of freight transport by means of road transport. While industry had modified its networks to meet the demand, the pandemic period brought new challenges to freight networks, forcing the different modes of transport to adapt to the unexpected environment. Some of those reactive solutions might have been adopted temporarily. However, others are expected to become permanent and their deployment in the short-medium term remains to be seen.

This chapter presents an overview of the challenges and respective solutions that were initiated throughout the pandemic period, mostly in response to concerns related to social distance and untypical demand needs. This overview allows for a better foretelling of the future directions and developments in the freight network elements. This chapter approaches the way forward for cities and industry regarding the lasting pandemic effects on freight networks. Such an overview is complemented by an input from an expert survey in order to evaluate the social acceptability towards the expected solutions that are emerging. The outcome of the chapter highlights the main guidelines for the freight networks in the future and correlates them with the pandemic’s permanent effects.