Can a city hold onto?and control?its identity when a mega-corporation moves in" Amazon announced plans in September 2017 to build a second headquarters, and cities across the country have since pitched their best and most ambitious selves to try and snag the tech company?s expected $5 billion investment and projected 50,000 jobs.
Now the pageant is over. Today, Amazon announced it?s opening two new headquarters: one in Long Island City, a rapidly developing area in the New York City borough of Queens, and the other in Crystal City, a neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C. It also announced an ?Operations Center of Excellence? in Nashville.
Now, the cities are thrust into the spotlight both locally and nationally, and will forever change. Amazon has already rebranded Crystal City as ?National Landing? in its news release and New York is speculating about what comes next. This raises a crucial question: How does a city define?and hold onto?its identity when a big, powerful, and influential company moves in"
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Long Island City will be the site of Amazon?s new headquarters in New York. The area has been rapidly redeveloping.

What is ?place branding"?
Throughout history, brands have become closely associated with the cities in which they build headquarters?and vice versa. Apple prints ?Designed in Cupertino? on the back of its products. Mountain View is a Google town. Nike put Portland on th...