City of Fulfillment

In light of quickly shifting patterns of consumption, labor, and leisure, how can the fulfillment center become the catalyst a revitalization that creates a more connected, adaptable, sustainable urbanism?

Once the biggest threat to the local, brick and mortar commerce that defined ‘public space’ in the United States, the fulfillment center provides the basis of a model that establishes a new paradigm for how we conceive of life within the city.

Amazon has revolutionized the way online retail occupies physical space. Where prior models rely entirely on fulfillment centers that are outside of the urban realm, Amazon utilizes smaller sortation centers and crowdsourced deliveries. The companies trajectory and patents point to a future that further segments physical space. The most efficient means by which to integrate logic and tools of fulfillment into the city is to rethink its structure so that the fulfillment center becomes the city itself.