Platform Urbanism Beyond Colonization and Commodification

Platform Urbanism Beyond Colonization and Commodification: Designing the Platform Before It Designs Us

van der Drift, Bjarne (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)

Muñoz Sanz, V. (mentor)
Viseu Cardoso, Rodrigo (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanism

2022-06-14

The rapid upsurge of the platform economy is producing profound changes to the way in which urban areas are functioning. With digital technology putting roots down in the fields of public transport, hospitality and the service industry, it opened up possibilities for new platform economy companies to nest themselves within the activities of these traditional public services. In some occasions serious disruptions of existing systems occur, while in other cases it may unveil opportunities to improve the functionality of public life in cities. Where (local) governmental organizations seem to grapple with policy making to effectively balance the interests of corporate platform organizations and the public good, it is important to critically explore the implications of inadequate regulation vis-a-vis the novel platform economy and the commodification of public space and services. This thesis is an extensive multi-facetted analysis, providing insight in the externalities of flash delivery platforms, as they claim their place in cities and influence urban planning practice. Furthermore, it shall offer design-based interventions to generate synergies between platform services and the traditional functionality of public services to provide creative solutions where policy instruments will fall short. As a result, a more thorough understanding of platform urbanism is acquired and new ways of using platform economies to enhance the lived experience in cities are being presented.

platform urbanism
digital technology
public space
urban logistics
Berlin

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d9a00ea0-8a28-4eee-aac8-c4c40b5431ff

52.47607713705822, 13.365335920670118

Student theses

master thesis

© 2022 Bjarne van der Drift