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Delivering difference: ‘Unbelonging’ among US platform parcel delivery workers

Author

Listed:
  • Hannah Johnston
  • Yana Mommadova
  • Steven Vallas
  • Juliet Schor

Abstract

This paper explores a neglected aspect of platform work: how the spatial mobility that app-based couriers must perform requires them to violate taken-for-granted assumptions that define who belongs where. By assigning tasks during atypical hours and requiring gig workers to use their personal clothing, tools and vehicles, platforms strip delivery workers of signifiers that legitimate their presence in consumers’ neighbourhoods. The result is a condition we call ‘unbelonging’ – a liminal state in which their presence is considered problematic, exposing them to threats of physical and symbolic violence. Our findings, which draw on 45 interviews with parcel delivery workers, contribute to the developing literature on urban geography and the socio-spatial impacts of the platform revolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah Johnston & Yana Mommadova & Steven Vallas & Juliet Schor, 2023. "Delivering difference: ‘Unbelonging’ among US platform parcel delivery workers," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(2), pages 303-318.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cjrecs:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:303-318.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cjres/rsac046
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    Cited by:

    1. Anna Davies & Betsy Donald & Mia Gray, 2023. "The power of platforms—precarity and place," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(2), pages 245-256.

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