The first city to fight back against Uber, Washington, D.C., was also
the first city where such resistance was defeated. It was here that
the company created a playbook for how to deal with intransigent
regulators and to win in the realm of local politics. The city
already serves as the nation’s capital. Now, D.C. is also the
blueprint for how Uber conquered cities around the world—and
explains why so many embraced the company with open arms.
Drawing
on interviews with gig workers, policymakers, Uber lobbyists, and
community organizers, Disrupting D.C. demonstrates that many
share the blame for lowering the nation’s hopes and dreams for what
its cities could be. In a sea of broken transit, underemployment, and
racial polarization, Uber offered a lifeline. But at what cost?
This
is not the story of one company and one city. Instead, Disrupting
D.C. offers a 360-degree view of an urban America in crisis. Uber
arrived promising a new future for workers, residents, policymakers,
and others. Ultimately, Uber’s success and growth was never a sign
of urban strength or innovation but a sign of urban weakness and low
expectations about what city politics can achieve. Understanding why
Uber rose reveals just how far the rest of us have fallen.