Ghent is a vibrant city, home to countless shops, restaurants, businesses, offices and residents. Keeping the city supplied requires a constant flow of freight transport, but this also creates significant challenges: congestion, noise, emissions, pressure on public space and safety concerns. At the same time, residents expect streets that are safe, accessible and pleasant to live in.
To support better-informed decisions, we engaged residents, visitors and people working in Ghent to understand how they experience urban freight transport, where they see the biggest challenges, and which trade-offs matter most to them. Through carefully designed questions and realistic dilemmas, we uncovered valuable insights that helped guide complex policy choices. Because finding the right balance between safety, emissions, accessibility and quality of life requires more than data alone: it also depends on understanding the experiences and priorities of the people who use the city every day.
