Trucking Through Berks County: Examining the Spatial Impacts of E-Commerce

Keywords: e-commerce, warehousing, GIS, Berks County
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 76

Abstract

Throughout the last 15 years, there has been tremendous growth in e-commerce. Berks County, Pennsylvania has emerged as a center of warehousing and distribution due to its accessible location to population centers, but with large amounts of low-cost land. As new warehousing and distribution centers have emerged in the region, along with growing truck traffic to support them, there has been many impacts on the residents of the area. These developments have provided jobs opportunities, but at the same time there has been increasing traffic congestion, pollution, changing land uses, and loss of agricultural space. This project uses GIS analysis to examine the following issues- determining the location of warehousing and distribution centers in the county, quantify how land use has changed, and explore changes to employment and population in Berks County, PA from 2007-2020. These results will aid in policy making and planning for the county.