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Platform mobilities and the production of urban space: Toward a typology of platformization trajectories

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  • John Stehlin

    (Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA)

  • Michael Hodson

    (Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK)

  • Andrew McMeekin

Abstract

The past decade has seen an explosion in what is popularly known as the “sharing economy,†perhaps most visibly in the realm of transport. Digital “shared mobility†platforms like Uber, Car2Go, and Mobike, as well as emerging, more sophisticated “mobility-as-a-service†platforms which coordinate multiple discrete services into a single portal, have risen to prominence as modes of reworking everyday urban transport in cities of North America, Europe, and East Asia in particular. This paper aims to explore the driving forces and concrete expressions of this platformization of urban mobility, as a particularly diverse and volatile component of a broader platform urbanism . Based on the construction and analysis of a database consisting of 200 urban mobility platforms drawn from across the globe, we highlight five key trajectories of platform formation, focusing on the firms, institutions, and social interests that have fueled the growth of this sector, and the modes of infrastructural organization, spatial formation, and governance that they entail. We further highlight the fragility of this particular form of “spatial fix,†and the prospects for a more redistributive form of platform urbanism. We conclude by reflecting on implications for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • John Stehlin & Michael Hodson & Andrew McMeekin, 2020. "Platform mobilities and the production of urban space: Toward a typology of platformization trajectories," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(7), pages 1250-1268, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:52:y:2020:i:7:p:1250-1268
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X19896801
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    Cited by:

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    4. Rojanakit, Patcharapar & Torres de Oliveira, Rui & Dulleck, Uwe, 2022. "The sharing economy: A critical review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1317-1334.
    5. Palmyra Repette & Jamile Sabatini-Marques & Tan Yigitcanlar & Denilson Sell & Eduardo Costa, 2021. "The Evolution of City-as-a-Platform: Smart Urban Development Governance with Collective Knowledge-Based Platform Urbanism," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-25, January.
    6. Rachel G McKane & David J Hess, 2022. "Ridesourcing and urban inequality in Chicago: Connecting mobility disparities to unequal development, gentrification, and displacement," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 54(3), pages 572-592, May.
    7. Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko, 2021. "Digital Urban Planning Platforms: The Interplay of Digital and Local Embeddedness in Urban Planning," International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), IGI Global, vol. 10(3), pages 35-49, July.
    8. De Jong, Martin & Joss, Simon & Taeihagh, Araz, 2024. "Smart cities as spatial manifestations of 21st century capitalism," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    9. Mike Hodson & Andrew McMeekin, 2021. "Global technology companies and the politics of urban socio-technical imaginaries in the digital age: Processual proxies, Trojan horses and global beachheads," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(6), pages 1391-1411, September.
    10. Soltani, Ali & Allan, Andrew & Khalaj, Fahimeh & Pojani, Dorina & Mehdizadeh, Milad, 2021. "Ridesharing in Adelaide: Segmentation of users," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. Koglin, Till & Mukhtar-Landgren, Dalia, 2021. "Contested values in bike-sharing mobilities – A case study from Sweden," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    12. Gebrial, Dalia, 2022. "Racial platform capitalism: empire, migration and the making of Uber in London," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115538, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Igor Calzada, 2020. "Platform and Data Co-Operatives amidst European Pandemic Citizenship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-22, October.

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