Amazon

Seattle, Washington

The $5 Billion Question: Will Cities Win or Lose in the Bid for Amazon's Second Headquarters?

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?

January 18, 2018 - Penn IUR Urban Link

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Amazon Announces 20 Finalists for its Second Headquarters

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.

January 18, 2018 - The New York Times

SMART Bus

Detroit Transit Expansion on the Table

Bidding for the second Amazon headquarters got the creative juices flowing in Detroit, and one outcome is a new regional transit plan

November 15, 2017 - Detroit Free Press

Minnesota

Challenges of Access to Low Wage Jobs in the Suburbs

Companies struggling to get employees to work are turning to a variety of transportation alternatives not traditionally covered by transit agencies.

November 2, 2017 - Star Tribune

Burrito

Drone Delivery Reaches the Burrito Phase

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.

October 19, 2017 - The Guardian

Amazon Fulfillment Center

War Rooms, Tax Breaks, and Sappy Videos—It's Deadline Day for Amazon HQ2

In a first for urbanism, Amazon turned a request for proposals into a hashtag. Welcome to #AmazonHQ2 day.

October 19, 2017 - James Brasuell

Amazon Fresh

How Amazon Is Expanding Brick and Mortar Presence

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.

October 19, 2017 - Modern Cities

Ross Dress for Less

Ross May Be Immune from the Amazon Effect

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.

October 17, 2017 - The Business Journals

Whole Foods and Amazon: Lessons from Walmart

Whole Foods and Amazon: Lessons from Walmart

The question of whether Amazon's ownership of Whole Foods will make opportunities, or take them away, is still up for debate.

October 3, 2017 - William Riggs

Amazon's Second HQ Poised for Smart Growth

Amazon's second headquarters is huge, and their bias for walkable places says they are going to do it all over again in a new city. However, maybe they should take the high road and not beg for subsidies.

September 19, 2017 - Smart Growth America

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Amazon's Second HQ Poised for Smart Growth

With a second headquarters, Amazon is poised to expand its preference for walkable places into a new city. However, maybe the company should take the high road and not beg for subsidies.

September 12, 2017 - Smart Growth America

Seattle, Washington

Amazon Makes Seattle the Nation's Biggest Company Town

The company town seems like a relic of a previous era of American industry, but Amazon and Seattle are redefining the concept.

August 29, 2017 - The Seattle Times

Amazon's Mobile Stores Rolling Out Nationwide

Amazon's Treasure Trucks hawk everything from GoPros to poke bowls and Harry Potter books.

July 24, 2017 - Modern Cities

Automobile Owner

Is Car Ownership Coming to an End?

The Wall Street Journal sees the end for car ownership, it's been predicted before, but they see moves from the industry and predictions from consultants as proof that this time it's for real.

June 29, 2017 - The Wall Street Journal

Amazon Drone

Amazon Files Patent Application for a Hive-Like Structure for Urban Drone Deliveries

Recode reveals a radical idea for how Amazon could consolidate delivery services in urban areas.

June 26, 2017 - Recode

Seattle Electric Bus

Seattle Adds Bus Capacity to Accommodate Amazon Interns

Sometimes it seems like Seattle and Amazon have a symbiotic relationship.

June 24, 2017 - The Seattle Times

Shipping Container Housing

Google to Buy 300 Modular Apartments for Employees

Mountain View is an expensive place to find housing, in part because of Google itself. The tech giant plans to do something about the housing crunch, for its employees at least.

June 20, 2017 - The Wall Street Journal

Seattle

Seattle and Silicon Valley: Joined at the Hip?

Tech thrives on connection, and America's west coast tech hubs are more connected than ever before. But Seattleites aren't in a rush to abandon their city's distinctiveness.

May 31, 2017 - The Economist

Kirkland, Washington

Amazon to House Homeless in Seattle Headquarters

Headquarters campus of Amazon will include housing for homeless who would have been displaced by the company’s purchase of the hotel that included their shelter.

May 17, 2017 - Next City

Pittsburgh at Night

What Makes For a 'Day 1 City'?

Can we use Jeff Bezos's distinction between "Day 1" and "Day 2" companies to compare cities? If so, Pittsburgh may be a prime example of the former.

May 1, 2017 - Hacker Noon

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.