Innovative Goods Distribution at the Human Scale

Abstract

This thesis has initiated an important discussion in the fields of environmental design and, more specifically, of urban goods distribution. Through a variety of design-research based methodologies, it has been shown that the use of a modern breed of cargobikes, with roots in the 19th century, can provide a human-scale goods distribution model with a seamless fit in the urban core. While this new mode of goods distribution may not immediately alter the physical landscape of the urban core, it will add a flash of colour to the kinetic landscape of the city’s street at the human-scale and will provide city-goers, whether on foot or in a vehicle, with a fleeting reprieve from the otherwise predictable surroundings.