The production of logistics places in France and Germany: a comparison between Paris, Frankfurt-am-Main and Kassel

Clément Barbier,Cécile Cuny,Nicolas Raimbault

doi:10.13169/workorgalaboglob.13.1.0030

Abstract

Logistics is now a key concept for the analysis of the transformations of global capitalism and a central perspective for understanding the changing power relations within global production networks. Furthermore, the development of logistics relies on the construction of thousands of warehouses and terminals that are essential nodes in the circulation of goods. The production of these logistics zones entails negotiations and coalitions between local authorities and different local and global firms, and structures the everyday life of logistics workers. The aim of this article, therefore, is to analyse the production of logistics areas at metropolitan and local scale, through a comparison between Paris (France) and Frankfurt-am-Main and Kassel (Germany). Based on an interdisciplinary approach combining urban sociology, urban geography and political science, it reveals that the production of logistics places is primarily the outcome of local negotiations and legitimisation processes in which the logistics real estate investments of globalised financial markets are embedded.

Highlights

Logistics is a key concept in the analysis of the transformations of global capitalism and a central perspective for understanding the changing power relations within global production networks (Cowen, 2014; Bernes, 2013; Mezzadra & Neilson, 2013, 2015; Neilson, Rossiter & Zehle, 2010; Rossiter, 2012)
This article deals with warehouses and terminals that are concentrated in urban regions. They raise many political issues in terms of the production of urban and metropolitan space, which have been addressed by current debates on ‘City Logistics’ (Taniguchi et al, 2001) and the ‘Logistics City’ (Cowen, 2014)
With the concept of ‘Logistics City’ Cowen defends a critical approach to the relationships between logistics and urban development, showing that logistics produce specific urban forms that are not conceived for people but for goods, according to an order derived from their military origins

Summary

Introduction

Logistics is a key concept in the analysis of the transformations of global capitalism and a central perspective for understanding the changing power relations within global production networks (Cowen, 2014; Bernes, 2013; Mezzadra & Neilson, 2013, 2015; Neilson, Rossiter & Zehle, 2010; Rossiter, 2012). From a material point of view, the development of logistics activities and flows entails the construction of thousands of warehouses and terminals that are essential nodes in the circulation of goods (Dablanc & Frémont, 2015; Cidell, 2015) These multiple logistics sites are mainly understood as the physical infrastructures that make current globalisation processes possible: the emergence of a ‘wall-less global factory’ (Cowen, 2014), the diversion of capital into the built environment, and the expansion of the geographical frontiers of the accumulation process (Danyluk, 2018). It focuses on public land developers and real estate actors in their relationship to the retail industry and private investors (Raimbault, 2016)

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Conclusion