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An efficient urban freight transport (UFT) system is crucial for sustainable city development. However, implementing city logistics measures still seems challenging for municipalities and decision-makers. Moreover, city authorities' decisions depend on politics and social issues, and the city residents' opinions seem to be very important in this context. Therefore, the primary objective of this paper was to assess the perception of urban mobility problems and freight solutions from the perspective of city users, considering the point of view of Brazilian and Polish city dwellers. The work was based on a survey realised in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Szczecin (Poland). The analysis identified the similarities and differences between the perceptions of different resident groups in both cities. The practical advantage of this research is the establishment of a set of recommendations for city decision-makers in the context of residents' perceptions and their expectations regarding the implementation of urban freight measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inland navigation is hardly ever used to transport cargo in cities. In most urban areas, it is performed almost exclusively via road transport, with the virtual exclusion of rail and inland transport. Research and implementation projects in several European cities have shown that employing inland navigation is a viable alternative for road transport in urban areas. The research involved a case study of transporting the same number of 40-foot containers by inland waterway and road and then comparing the results in terms of transport time, transport costs, and carbon dioxide emissions between two metropolitan areas in Poland. The article shows that River Information Services (RIS) system can contribute to improving freight transport efficiency not only on longer routes, but also in urban and inter-urban conditions. The findings were that inland shipping is much cheaper and more environmentally friendly, but transport takes much longer and is not always possible due to insufficient waterway infrastructure. The paper can be used as a road map to proceed with new approach to planning urban and inter-urban logistics, with the use of inland navigation supported by the RIS system. The study delivers evidence that the main benefits of using RIS for urban logistics are: optimization of the cargo route, improved supervision and control of cargo transport, optimization of inter-branch transport, optimization of the use of fleet, more efficient use of technical infrastructure of waterways, combination of many recipients/senders into one transport, and reduction of administrative barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The LFR system may be a solution that makes it possible to use rail haulage to serve the feeder function in UFT. • The LFR system as the innovative solution may become a real alternative to road transport. • Implementation of LFR in urban areas may become an important factor to foster the growth of SUFT. This article discusses the issues of rail freight transport functioning in urban areas. The main purpose of this article is to identify the conditions for implementing the Light Freight Railway (LFR) as an innovative solution for Sustainable Urban Freight Transport. To achieve the assumed goal, the following research methods were used: literature review, documentary method and Delphi method. The area covered by the research is the Szczecin Metropolitan Area, Poland. The study has demonstrated that despite the features that univocally determine the place and role of rail transport on the service market, it is important to implement innovative solutions that involve rail transport. The concept presented by the authors can help use railway to carry cargoes on short distances in urban areas. The proposed system is in line with the assumptions of sustainable development of transport. The conducted research has shown that implementation of the LFR is conditioned by a number of factors of technical and organisational nature, but it can contribute to achieving certain short- and long-term benefits. The LFR concept is an autonomous solution that can be implemented in individual urban areas, regardless of any solutions applied in other areas within a given transport chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]