The Amazon Opportunity to Revitalize Urban Communities

If corporations continue to be able to take public subsidy as the price of locating in an area, maybe the debate isn't whether to offer subsidies but simply how and for what to offer them. Here’s one incentive that might actually benefit communities.

1 minute read

April 17, 2018, 5:00 AM PDT

By Keli_NHI


Amazon Fulfillment Center

By Ken Wolter / Shutterstock

About 20 cities nationwide remain under consideration as the site for what Amazon has billed as the search for its second headquarters.

Philadelphia, one of the finalists, has offered the online retailer a package of tax breaks and other benefits totaling in excess of $1 billion dollars. New Jersey (for a Newark-area site) has offered subsidies several times that amount. These offers are not dissimilar to those made by more than a dozen other jurisdictions, indicating just how willing political leadership is in these communities to compete for Amazon’s presence.

However, support for these subsidies has not been without criticism. Some are opposed to the idea of giving up funds for badly needed public resources to one of the world’s richest companies, and some economists have questioned the economic efficiency of corporate tax breaks altogether, and proposed alternatives that would better strengthen communitiesand local economies.

Nevertheless, if corporations continue to extract public subsidies as the price for locating in a community, perhaps the debate is not whether to offer subsidies but rather to reconsider how and for what specific purpose such subsidies are to be provided.

Monday, April 16, 2018 in Shelterforce/Rooflines

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20 - Streetsblog USA

Close-up on BLM sign on Continental Divide Trail in Rawlins, Wyoming.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule

The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

April 20 - Public Domain

Calvary Street bridge over freeway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path

Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.

April 20 - Smart Cities Dive