About Mte's Urban Goods Movement Initiative

At Moving the Economy's 1998 conference, the issues surrounding urban goods movement emerged as profoundly important to urban life and economy. Urban/regional goods movement had been largely neglected or overlooked, despite the emergence of growing challenges such as increased population in cities (meaning that there are simply more goods that have to be moved) and changing ways of doing business (including e-commerce, just-in-time, third-party logistics, and new technologies). With these challenges came new opportunities and innovations. Taking advantage of these opportunities, and meeting these challenges, is clearly key to the economy and quality of life in a city region.

Moving the Economy needed to learn more about the issues surrounding urban goods movement, which were not widely examined through the prism of sustainable transportation or New Mobility. To build our own and collective understanding, in early 2000 Moving the Economy hosted a series of three workshops focusing on urban goods movement issues and solutions, spurred by discussions with and the cooperation of a range of partners.

April 2000: The Rail Charette, held in partnership with the Railway Association of Canada and a range of rail industry representatives focused on goods movement via rail and intermodal approaches.. It also looked at barriers to increased rail freight movement, with some emphasis on city regions.

• May 2000: What in the World is Happening to Urban Goods Movement? featured internationally-renowned goods movement expert Professor Alan MacKinnon, who presented a survey of world-wide innovations and best practices in urban goods movement.
• May 2000: Can Industry Help the G.T.A. Become More Efficient? held in partnership with the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) and supported by Human Resources Development Canada and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund. This workshop focused on the Greater Toronto Area, and the potential for industry to increase profitability and sustainability through goods movement efficiencies.

Following up on the success of the Primer, Moving the Economy was invited by the Greater Toronto Services Board Goods Caucus (now defunct) to make recommendations on next steps for urban goods movement in the region. The most important of these steps included the formation of goods movement sector councils (also known as freight stakeholder partnerships), to ensure that the full range of players connected to urban goods could bring together timely and accurate information to take the appropriate, immediate and coordinated actions required for the smooth and seamless door-to-door movement of goods across urban regions.

To further this goal, Moving the Economy has been maintaining and developing contacts with partners and key players in urban goods movement, and we have been monitoring emerging innovations in the industry.

Happily, goods movement has emerged as a priority at all levels of government - in Transport Canada's Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program, in the report of the Ontario Smart Growth Panel, and in the City of Toronto's new Official Plan. In addition, the Region of Peel is developing a co-ordinated urban goods movement strategy. The federal government has recently completed its first round of support grants via the FSDP, to projects working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in freight transportation.

Moving the Economy continues to respond to requests to advise on issues related to goods movement. To keep urban goods movement high on the New Mobility agenda, we are holding a Goods Movement Industry Working Session at our June 10 - 13th New Mobility Industry Forum (NMIF).

Moving the Economy will also feature goods movement at the NMIF Plenary Day, with an international speaker and a local panel addressing the state of the art in urban goods movement strategies and innovations. Moving the Economy looks forward to the development of a Canada-wide network of co-ordinated urban goods movement initiatives.