Supervision: Sascha von Behren

Road-based freight transport accounts for a significant portion of emissions, noise, and traffic congestion in urban areas. In the metropolitan regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, the overlap between delivery traffic and private passenger traffic leads to traffic jams, efficiency losses, and negative environmental impacts. A promising approach to alleviating this burden is to shift distribution traffic to off-peak hours or nighttime. A prerequisite for this is the use of low-noise, battery-electric commercial vehicles that can meet the requirements of the Technical Instructions on Noise (TA Lärm) even in sensitive areas (Fraunhofer IML 2017, MUNV NRW 2024).

The technical feasibility of low-noise nighttime logistics has been successfully demonstrated in pilot projects such as GeNaLog. However, obstacles remain in planning and permitting practices: Delivery time windows specified in building permits, unclear assessment criteria for electric truck emissions, and a lack of practical experience among local governments complicate implementation. Furthermore, little is known about how residents near potential night logistics sites evaluate the concept and which factors influence their acceptance.

This research project examines the prerequisites for the successful implementation of low-noise nighttime logistics from a land-use planning perspective. In the first phase, the regulatory framework governing planning and noise control will be systematically analyzed, and obstacles in the permitting process will be identified through expert interviews. In addition, a review of European best practices (e.g., Barcelona, Amsterdam, London) will be conducted to determine success factors and potential for transferability. In the second phase, a GIS-supported spatial potential analysis will be conducted for a case city in North Rhine-Westphalia (expected to be Dortmund) to identify and categorize suitable locations for nighttime deliveries. The third phase is dedicated to assessing acceptance among residents through standardized surveys and qualitative interviews.

Depending on the project group’s priorities, quantitative methods (GIS analysis, surveys) and/or qualitative methods (expert interviews, focus groups) may be explored in greater depth. The results are intended to lead to recommendations for action for municipalities, logistics service providers, and state-level authorities.

The project is part of the ongoing funded project “EULE – Efficient and Quiet Logistics in Urban Areas” of the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transportation of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is being carried out at Fraunhofer IML. The findings of the F-project complement EULE’s economic-ecological scenario analysis by adding the spatial planning and social dimensions. The results are of direct interest to the EULE White Paper and the participating municipality.