Meal delivery logistics and the agencies of distribution in urban economies of food provision in the UK

Fiche du document

Date

25 février 2021

Discipline
Type de document
Périmètre
Langue
Identifiant
Organisation

OpenEdition

Licences

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ , info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess


Mots-clés

food geography; logistics; last-mile delivery; platform economy; urban infrastructure.


Citer ce document

Lizzie Richardson, « Meal delivery logistics and the agencies of distribution in urban economies of food provision in the UK », Journal of Urban Research, ID : 10.4000/articulo.4562


Métriques


Partage / Export

Résumé 0

Newcastle-upon-Tyne has recently seen an expansion in takeaway prepared food thanks to the meal delivery service provided through companies such as Deliveroo. These companies have what they call a “technology platform” that enables customers in certain urban areas to order and purchase a meal which is delivered to their location, usually within thirty minutes. Although a seemingly mundane moment of consumption, the processes underpinning this act compose a distinctly urban manifestation of the broader logistical logics of contemporary capitalism. Delivering a prepared meal from a restaurant to its nearby site of ingestion in the city is symptomatic of the role of logistics in valuation, through achieving the right place at the right time for a given commodity. Such logistics require the emergence of new urban infrastructure and the reconfiguration of existing components through the combination of the technology platform, the restaurant collection point and rider-deliverybox-vehicle assemblage. Building from this infrastructure, Deliveroo are able to extend their operations into food production and supply, whilst also re-organising socio-spatial divisions of labour in food provisioning. Distribution is therefore no neutral mediator between production and consumption, but rather has far-reaching effects, altering existing and generating new spatial practices composing urban economies of food provision.

document thumbnail

Par les mêmes auteurs

Sur les mêmes sujets

Sur les mêmes disciplines

Exporter en