June 20, 2012
Press Releases

New lab conducts ground-breaking research on megacity supply chains

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 19, 2012 – The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) will launch the Megacity Logistics Lab at its Crossroads 2012 conference, June 28, 2012, on the MIT campus, Cambridge, MA, USA. How to design, build, and manage the supply chains that are critical to the sustainable growth and operation of these giant urban centers is the main focus of the new research initiative.

“Up until now research on the megacity phenomenon has centered on issues such as the movement of people within these metropolises. Our work will give companies and governments a deeper understanding of the logistics and supply chain issues – research that is urgently needed given the rate at which megacities are expanding,” says Dr. Edgar Blanco, Director of the MIT Megacity Logistics Lab. He will present the initiative as part of a special session on megacity supply chain management at MIT CTL’s Crossroads 2012 conference.

Megacities – cities with a population of at least 10 million people – are increasing in both number and size. Their share of world GDP is expected to increase from about 14% to over 20% in a decade. Most of the 23 existing megacities are located in emerging markets. The Megacity Logistics Lab will inaugurate its ambitious agenda with a series of discussion workshops across Latin America in 2012. The workshops are scheduled to take place in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Santiago, São Paulo, and Cambridge, USA. Local business and academic leaders will discuss the megacity logistics environment at each event. In addition to Dr. Blanco, a team of leading academic collaborators and researchers from Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, and the USA supports the Megacity Logistics Lab’s research effort.

For more information on the Megacity Logistics Lab, including the 2012 series of discussion workshops, go to: http://megacitylab.mit.edu, or contact Dr. Edgar Blanco at: eblanco@mit.edu

For more information on Crossroads 2012: Supply Chains in Transition: The Driving Forces of Change conference, and to register for this unique event, go to: http://ctl.mit.edu/events/crossroads_2012, or contact Ms Nancy Martin, Events Coordinator MIT CTL, email: nlmartin@mit.edu, telephone: +1 617-253-1547,

For more information on the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, contact Ms Tara Faulkner, Director of Communications, MIT CTL, email: taraf@mit.edu, telephone: +1 617-253-4592.