London Planning Seminar: Flexible office spaces

The increasing political and economic uncertainties registered in Europe are affecting the locational patterns of innovative small enterprises. A growing number of freelancing and project-based work has had an impact on the working spaces and the commercial real estate market. Flexible and shared office spaces of different forms are becoming the new trend to accustom the need of start-ups and creative or innovative entrepreneurs. This study explores the contextual dynamics of co-working spaces in two very different cities – both for real estate trends and for local economic development dynamics - like Rome and London. The main typologies of spaces found are similar but the way they are declined is very different in the two cities, influenced by the surrounding socio-economic variables. Considering the co-working and flexible office market in London is better established, the comparison with a real estate market where co-working is in its infancy, like that of Rome, allows us to critically address the growth of this type of office space and to address possible recommendations for stakeholders such as policymakers, real estate professionals and office occupiers.