In this publication and on this web site, we have examined how storage and distribution centers fueled by e-commerce technologies have been transforming landscapes out in the exurbs. These new centers continue to erupt where open land is less expensive than near the cities, but still conveniently close to consuming populations and the transportation corridors that connect them. Central Valley cities from Tracy, to Patterson, to Fresno, and Bakersfield have been competing with one another by cutting lucrative deals with companies such as Amazon to attract their latest distribution centers. Communities then debate whether the potential jobs are worth the loss in potential tax revenues. Click the two articles that follow this discussion for local perspectives.
Here, we offer Patterson as an exhibit. It is strategically located off Interstate 5 southwest of Modesto and just more than an hour from major Bay Area cities. Patterson residents might tell you it is much more than a distant bedroom commuter community or a hub for distribution centers. Like so many Central Valley cities, it has a rich farming history; in Patterson’s case, that includes a label as the apricot capital and an annual festival to celebrate this juicy fruit. But like many of those Central Valley cities, Patterson’s farmland is being gobbled up by new developments and a population that has exploded well over 20,000 in recent years, roughly doubling since our first edition at the turn of the century. Here, you will see signs of these changes in a conflicted landscape of traditional farmland and harvests juxtaposed against generic suburban landscapes that could be almost anywhere in California.
