Topography of the Gargantuan Warehouses

Abstract

This paper explores the spatiality of logistics centres and large-scale warehouses through a postcolonial research perspective and reflective urban studies practice. Focusing on the infrastructures that support online shopping and global supply chains, the study seeks to make visible the hidden processes through which cities are reorganised around trade flows and logistics operations. Methodologically, the research employs essay film as both a method and a form of inquiry, combining walking, filming, annotation, and creative-reflective practices to investigate logistics landscapes in the Marmara region between Istanbul and Kocaeli. Drawing on concepts of situated knowledge and postcolonial methodology, the paper argues that warehouses should be understood not only as technical infrastructures but also as instruments of corporate accumulation that commodify land, labour, and circulation. Through the essay film Topography of the Gargantuan Warehouses, the research traces the journey of an online purchase to reveal the invisible labour, environmental costs, and logistical systems behind contemporary consumption. The findings suggest that warehouses function as spatial manifestations of a contemporary, corporation-led form of colonisation, where environmental burdens and labour relations are concealed behind the apparent efficiency of global supply chains. The paper concludes by advocating a more accountable and ethically informed understanding of logistics infrastructures and their role in shaping urban peripheries, planning practices, and global inequalities.