Amazon
Examples like Elon Musk's subway plan in Chicago, app-driven electric scooters littering sidewalks, and Amazon's general preponderance may point to a tech-dominated urban future. But are localities ceding too much power to the private sector?
The New York Times
If a majority of the city's voters approve the city-sponsored ballot measure, business license fees will change from a flat $30 annual fee to a new tax based on the number of employees, with the largest employer, Google, to pay $3.3 million.
San Francisco Chronicle
The decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair certainly didn't hurt traditional retailers, but they're still going to have to help themselves in the face of competition from online retail.
Globe St.
UPS's unionized workers have voted to authorize a strike around expanded service. If that strike does happen, it could be one of the biggest U.S. has seen in decades.
CNN
It’s "dramatically higher" than any number under discussion, and not even close to what the city will raise with its new tax on large businesses.
Crosscut
The Seattle City Council, prompted by pressure from Mayor Jenny Durkan, approved a smaller version of the "Head Tax" that provoked the ire of Amazon.
The Urbanist
Amazon, a company with cities throwing money at its feet all over the country, has decided to halt construction on an expansion in its hometown over a proposed "head tax."
The New York Times
Spoiler alert: the rent will go up in whatever city Amazon chooses for the site of its second headquarters.
Zillow Research
Two major grocery store companies announced bankruptcy this week, sparking fears that the "retail apocalypse" has expanded to food retailers.
The Washington Post
It's possible Amazon could select a suburban campus for its second headquarters. Here's why that possibility could be a benefit to suburban environments everywhere.
CityLab
The rise of online retail has come with a flurry of delivery trucks that don't always have good places to stop. Researchers from Amazon's hometown are on the case.
Landscape Architecture Magazine
The Saturday Night Light Live cast took a break from satirizing the Trump Administration to poke fun at Amazon.
Recode
We asked more than a dozen urban experts: How will cities gain or lose from the competition to host Amazon's second North American headquarters?
Penn IUR Urban Link
In September, 238 applicants dreamed the impossible dream of attracting the second headquarters of Amazon, along with some 40,000 jobs. Today, all but 20 of those applicants will have to find a new quest.
The New York Times
Bidding for the second Amazon headquarters got the creative juices flowing in Detroit, and one outcome is a new regional transit plan
Detroit Free Press
Companies struggling to get employees to work are turning to a variety of transportation alternatives not traditionally covered by transit agencies.
Star Tribune
Delivery-by-drone continues to make strides to becoming a feasible reality, as testing in rural Australia has seen burritos fly through the air from restaurant to customers' back yards.
The Guardian
Blog post
In a first for urbanism, Amazon turned a request for proposals into a hashtag. Welcome to #AmazonHQ2 day.
Is retail dead? Amazon doesn't think so, and has been slowly growing a fleet of physical stores that look quite a bit different from their traditional retail counterparts.
Modern Cities
Ross Stores continues its expansion in the face of a much-foretold retail apocalypse. The shopping experience it provides may be one reason it can stand up to Amazon.
The Business Journals
