Transformations of metropolitan workspaces in the era of global challenges - the impact of the emergence and evolution of coworkings on the spatial structure of the city: evidence from Warsaw

The traditional industrial model of the economy and the city was based on work provided in a specific location and the rigidity and disconnectedness of the home-work relationship. Only information and communication technologies have led to a fundamental change in the working environment, including the possibility of making work (especially informational work) independent of any specific location. Despite the increased flexibility in the choice of place of work, the need for social interaction seems to be essential for the creation of new ideas, innovation, and the satisfaction of social needs of workers. This gives rise to a new model of organisation of work space in the form of coworking spaces, i.e. places where freelancers, start-ups and teams within companies share work space on flexible terms. This phenomenon is particularly visible in metropolises, which are key centres of the global economy and which concentrate the largest resources of workers providing information services.

The aim of this project is to assess the impact of the emergence of coworking spaces and the evolution of its model on the transformation of metropolitan space. In the context of the global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fourth Technological Revolution, and the climate crisis, the project aims to answer a series of corresponding research questions. The research will concern the evolution of coworking spaces and its impact on the spatial structure of the city on the example of the Warsaw metropolis. In particular, it will include the identification and analysis of the functioning of coworking spaces in the city from a temporal and spatial perspective, which will allow us to assess their impact on the compactness and polycentricity of the urban fabric.