Research Profile
The chair of Freight Transport Planning and Transport Logistics is part of the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Wuppertal. It is represented in research and teaching by Prof. Dr. Bert Leerkamp. Its research focuses on the analysis and calculation of transport demand, the planning of infrastructure networks, the calculation and evaluation of accessibility, commercial transport in cities, environmental effects and the integration of commercial transport into Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).
The chairholder, Prof. Leerkamp, and many of the seven research assistants of the chair are also active members in committees of the Forschungsgesellschaft für Straßen- und Verkehrswesen [Road and Transportation Research Association] (e.g. AK 1.8.5. Wirtschaftsverkehr in Ballungsräumen [Working Group 1.8.5. Commercial Transport in Urban Areas]) and the Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gesellschaft [Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association] (ARL; Ad-hoc-AK Güterverkehr und Raumentwicklung [Ad-hoc Working Group Freight Transport and Territorial Development]). The chair has four main research areas.
Urban freight transport
Until now, freight transport has played only a minor role in urban transport planning, as there is no direct legal obligation for municipalities to do so. Sustainable Urban Logistics Plans (SULP) aim to minimize the negative impacts of road freight transport on the urban environment and quality of life. Urban freight transportation plans can include suggestions for the design of sites proposed for freight transportation. After the failure of city logistics in the 1990s, additional innovative measures in urban freight transport are gaining importance again, such as delivery by cargo bikes or new bundling concepts, which the chair also considers in projects.
Regional freight transport
Currently, freight transport is insufficiently integrated into regional transport infrastructure planning and commercial land use designation, although settlement decisions of logistics companies mostly take place at the regional level. It is recognizable that logistics real estate plays a significant and growing role in land use. This has multi-layered effects on spatial planning, the circular flow of income and prevents a more sustainable orientation of the transport system (e.g. with regard to strengthening rail freight transport). In this context, the research objective of our chair is to contribute to a better integration of freight transport into spatial and transport planning. New methods for obtaining data and creative solutions for freight transport are currently being developed as part of current studies, which are to be applied in practice to the design of cross-modal freight transport networks. Regional planning is also involved in this process.
Transport Modeling & Big Data
In addition, methods are developed at the chair using large amounts of data, with which traffic models can be calibrated. By merging (spatial) data (e.g. employees by industry, land use, locations of combined transport terminals), e.g. trip purposes can be determined from matrices. The assignment of traffic relations to the parameterized road network leads to routes for each traffic purpose. These routes can be used, for example, as input into the planning process of federal trunk roads.
Network design & accessibility
Another research focus of the chair is the development of spatially compatible transport networks and in particular the integration of freight transport into the development of transport networks. To identify deficits and needs for action, accessibility analyses are conducted, for which a road network model parameterized with real speed data is used. Furthermore, accessibility analyses for public transport are also carried out on the basis of GTFS feeds. With this data basis, deficits in the transport network can also be made visible.
