Although Amazon is pulling back on its great warehouse expansion, e-commerce and the demand for warehouse space are not going away. Warehouses, distribution centers, and last mile deliveries will continue to impact planning for the foreseeable future. Planners will need to continue thinking about warehouses and their impacts on the built environment, the economy, transportation, and the environment. A critical question is how warehouses can become more sustainable.

Historically, warehouses have been a neglected topic by the planning profession, but that has certainly been changing. In 2020, the APA’s Zoning Practice Report focused on e-commerce and the future of land use.

In 2021, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, which has been dealing with exponential warehouse growth, released a report on high cube warehouses. The 2022 Chapter Conference in Lancaster included a session focusing on the transportation and economic impacts of e-commerce warehousing in Berks County.