Implications for Places of Remote Working

Introduction

An increase in remote working raises important issues about the changing geography of work and the associated implications for places. This chapter is written from a UK perspective, but many of the issues raised have wider international relevance. The contours of the shift to remote working at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March-May 2020 in the UK were uneven by sector and by occupation. Infections and COVID-19 related deaths rose again later in 2020 and in January 2021 the nations of the UK were in lockdown once again. While at the time of writing in early 2021 the situation remains fluid, it seems likely that the process of a shift to a ‘new normal’ will involve the creation of a new and more flexible geography of work, with important implications for places. While it is possible to undertake some jobs remotely – for all or at least some of the time on a shorter- and longer-term basis – there are other jobs that, of necessity, are undertaken at a fixed site. This has direct implications for the geography of work. There are indirect effects too. Remote working in some jobs has implications for the sustainability of other jobs. An example is sandwich shops in city centres that become less profitable as footfall reduces because more office workers are working at home, at least for some of the time.

This chapter traces the possible short- and medium-term implications for places of remote working. It has five key objectives:

• Objective 1: To explore which types of places, where, and for whom, are most attractive in the context of greater remote working

• Objective 2: To examine what city centres, which have thrived on the face-to-face interactions possible in an environment of proximity, will look like in future in the context of greater remote working and an associated acceleration of the trend towards online retailing

• Objective 3: To question whether greater remote working will lead to a revival of outer urban centres, market towns and rural areas

• Objective 4: To assess whether places are likely to become more segregated and more unequal as (often more affluent) workers exercise the possibility to work from home while (often poorer and younger) workers are unable to do so

• Objective 5: To explore the implications of remote working for place-based policy

The chapter first sets out the background to the phenomenon of remote working and its longer-term impacts. Next it focuses on implications for place attractiveness and implications for cities and city centres, before turning to implications for outer urban areas, market towns and rural areas. Attention then turns to the possible accentuation of socio-spatial inequalities as a result of the trends outlined and implications for place-based policies.