What is Place Shaping

A shift to remote working raises important issues about the changing geography of work and the associated implications for places. It seems unlikely that a ‘new normal' after the COVID-19 pandemic will replicate the pre-COVID-19 picture. This has implications for the geography of work, both directly and indirectly because remote working in some jobs has implications for the sustainability of other jobs previously reliant on them. This chapter traces the possible short- and medium-term implications for places of remote working, addressing important questions relating to (1) the changing attractiveness of places in the context of greater remote working; (2) the future for city centres; (3) a possible revival of outer urban centres, market towns, and rural areas; (4) implications for geographical segregation and inequalities as different sub-groups face different possibilities for remote working; and (5) the implications of remote working for place-based policy.