On 23-24 January, our partner ICOOR participated in the 9th Business Systems Laboratory International Symposium in Varese, Italy, to present their research on optimising urban parking for compact electric vehicles.

Giulia Renzi (ICOOR) presented an extended abstract of a paper titled “ZEV-UP’s Prototype Vehicle and its Reclamation for Urban Space Through Parking Optimization: A Framework for Small Parking Lots Introduction”, co-authored with Paulo Cesar Cantillano Lizana (ICOOR).

The study explores how small, frugal electric vehicles, such as the ZEV-UP vehicle, can contribute to better parking and urban space utilisation by addressing pressing challenges, such as the lack of space in cities. It introduces a methodology to assess the impact of small parking lots tailored for compact vehicles, which was applied to a case study in Budapest testing nine scenarios, varying vehicle size and market share, to evaluate different parking strategies.

The key findings show that densely populated commercial and business areas benefit most from reallocating parking for small vehicles, freeing up space for green areas and other uses. In lower-density areas, benefits are more limited due to shorter walking distances and different parking needs. The research also highlights that the higher the presence of compact vehicles, the greater the impact of small parking lots in improving urban mobility.

By participating in this symposium, ZEV-UP reinforces its role in advancing research on sustainable urban mobility, with a paper emphasising how optimising parking for compact electric vehicles can contribute to reducing congestion, reclaiming urban space, and supporting greener, more efficient cities.