First “IRS Dialog” research report on new paths in urban logistics published

With its new, in-house online publication series "IRS Dialog", the IRS has created a framework for publishing research reports and working papers, as well as for stating its position in debates related to spatial-development policy. The first issue has now been released: a research report from the project “Stadtquartier 4.0” (“Urban Quarter 4.0”), showing how experts view the prospects of a reduction in urban delivery traffic.

The series “IRS Dialog” serves as an umbrella format for the publication of results from IRS research beyond specialist journals and books. The IRS will thus make its findings accessible to the general public directly and straightforwardly. “IRS Dialog” covers a number of subcategories: Research Reports provide information on projects that have been completed or that are in progress; Policy Papers interpret the results of research in contributions focusing on social and political debates surrounding spatial development; and Working Papers report on the status of academic articles that, without yet being subject to peer review, provide access to the scientific discussion. Issues of “IRS Dialog” will appear in English or German, depending on the intended target audience. The original series “IRS Working Papers” concluded with a final publication in 2015, but back issues continue to be available.

In their research report "Logistik und Mobilität in der Stadt von morgen. Eine Expert*innenstudie über letzte Meile, Sharing-Konzepte und urbane Produktion" (“Logistics and Mobility in Tomorrow’s Cities: An Expert Study on the Last Mile, Sharing Concepts, and Urban Production”), Ralph Richter, Max Söding, and Gabriela Christmann set out the findings of a Delphi survey, in which more than 300 experts were interviewed about their assessment of the effects and chances for implementation of a series of alternative urban logistics concepts.