New co-work places as game changers in the knowledge and creative economy of cities and regions in a transitional era
Christine LIEFOOGHE, Université de Lille, France
The communication intends to explore the controversial role of new co-work places as game changers in a knowledge and creative economy at the time of the ecological and digital transition. We define co-work places as either coworking spaces (collaborative service production in shared office buildings) or as makerspaces/Fablabs (collaborative goods production in shared manufacturing buildings). At a first stage, coworking spaces or makerspaces were located in metropoles all other the world. At a second stage, we observe a spatial diffusion of these co-work places in small and medium cities or even in rural areas. This new socio-spatial trend could change the spatial game of the neo-liberal knowledge and creative economy (KCE) that reinforced the metropolization of knowledge infrastructures, creative talents and firms in a global economy. At a local scale, the polarization effect of the KCE - as well as of the “digital economy” conceived as a more technological focus of the knowledge economy - divided the metropolitan areas between smart or creative urban districts and other (derelict) neighborhoods. On the contrary, impacts of new co-work places seem invisible in the urban fabric transformation because they use former office or manufacturing buildings.
The paper proposes a critical appraisal of the literature about co-work places and their role in territorial or urban transformations. Then, we will examine two hypothesis to discuss the future of (digital) co-work places in the transition of cities and regions. The first hypothesis deals with the spatial diffusion of the KCE through the spatial spread of talents thanks to new co-work places in all territories. The second hypothesis considers that co-work places could reinforce the spatial division of labor, through teleworking or relocation of manufacturing production, recent trends sustained by public policies. Not sure that the game will change towards a more collaborative and sharing economy for spatial justice.
Mots clés : Coworking|Makerspaces|Telework|Spatial diffusion|Transition
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