Fourteen months after the initial announcement of Amazon’s search for a second headquarters, Amazon has finally broken the tension by announcing the future headquarter locations. Amazon has chosen New York City and Arlington, Virginia, which came as a shock for many other cities that have assumed that there would be one HQ2. When Amazon announced their initiative to supplement the existing Seattle, Washington headquarters, 238 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States submitted proposals in hopes of being selected. In January, Amazon shortlisted 20 finalist cities to begin the bidding process. The final 20 cities released further information to Amazon and wrote proposals that would attract Amazon officials.
Winning the Amazon bid meant that the selected city would go through a complete metamorphosis with an addition of 50,000 new jobs which would cause an economic and development transformation. Many city leaders have bent over backwards to win the hearts of Amazon officials. Some have even implemented changes to improve aspects of their cities, such as transit, labor, and overall quality of life.
Some have criticized how Amazon has now been provided with a wealth of knowledge that the public may not know yet about their cities, including infrastructure investments, economic development plans, and tax incentives. Amazon critic Stacy Mitchell has been skeptical regarding Amazon’s motives for moving across the country, and has stated some concerns about the changes that Amazon’s arrival will have on New York City and Arlington. Both cities will now be splitting the 50,000 new employees but will see a major strain on public transit and housing.
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