Routes to Sustainable Goods Movement: How Local and Regional Governmental Agencies Can Plan for the Sustainable Freight System of the Future
Freight transportation plays a critical role in supporting economic activity and everyday consumption across metropolitan regions, but growing freight demand continues to increase congestion, infrastructure strain, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and safety risks. These impacts often disproportionately affect low-income and environmentally burdened communities. This report examines how metropolitan regions across the United States are planning for sustainable freight transportation through content analysis of freight and goods movement plans and interviews with freight planning professionals. The study analyzes plans from eight major metropolitan regions to identify common freight planning strategies, implementation approaches, opportunities, and barriers related to sustainability, resilience, and equity. The findings show that metropolitan planning organizations increasingly prioritize multimodal connectivity, freight corridor planning, congestion reduction, and economic competitiveness, while more recent actions demonstrate growing attention to climate resilience and zero-emission technologies. However, equity and environmental justice considerations often remain underdeveloped, and practitioners continue to face major barriers related to freight data, funding, and institutional coordination. The report argues that sustainable freight planning requires a more integrated approach that balances economic vitality with climate resilience, public health, safety, and equity objectives. By synthesizing lessons from diverse metropolitan regions, this research provides practical insights to help local and regional agencies strengthen freight planning, improve system performance, and reduce environmental impacts while supporting long-term resilience.
Serena E. Alexander
Serena E. Alexander, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Environmental Policy and Engineering and Interim Director of the Master of Science in Urban Planning and Policy at Northeastern University. Her research focuses on transportation decarbonization, climate resilience, freight and rail systems, and equity, with an emphasis on applied, policy-relevant research that informs planning and decision-making.
She previously served as a Visiting Scholar of Climate Policy and Infrastructure Resilience at the U.S. Department of Transportation and is a Research Associate with the Mineta Transportation Institute. Prior to joining Northeastern, Dr. Alexander was on the faculty in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at San José State University. She has led several federally and statefunded research projects supported by USDOT, the Federal Railroad Administration, Caltrans, and the California State University Transportation Consortium.
Her work has been published in academic journals such as Cities, Transportation Research Record, and Sustainability, and she regularly engages with transportation agencies and practitioners through technical reports, workshops, and invited talks. Dr. Alexander holds a Ph.D. in Urban Studies and Public Affairs from Cleveland State University, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and degrees in Architectural Engineering from Azad University of Tehran.
Avante Grady
Avante Grady is the Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development in the Town of Milton, MA. He has prior work experience in sustainable freight planning research, clean energy workforce development, and assisting in the sampling of PFAS chemicals for the state of Vermont. Avante graduated from Northeastern University with a M.S. in Urban Planning and Policy with a focus in Sustainability and Resilience. He also holds a B.S in Geography from the University of Oregon with a focus in Environmental Systems.
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