Federica Rossi (Politecnico di Milano):

The rescheduling of working methods due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge in remote working (RW) and demand for collaborative spaces, like coworking spaces (CSs), adopting hybrid working models. Within this context, the paper analyses the growth and location of Italian CSs in the period before and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2023) by merging new data sources, and explores its determinants. Applying a mixed methods approach (quantitative and qualitative analysis) we show that Italian CSs are located and grow in large urban areas and medium-sized cities. This growth is triggered by the market demand and market potential. Interestingly, the spatial analysis (Moran’s I) and the interviews show a lower demand for CSs in suburban areas around large cities probably because remote workers and hybrid workers prefer to commute to nearby cities to exploit urbanisation economies. Moreover, a higher concentration of innovation and a stronger broadband endowment trigger CS growth.