8 - Smart working and flexible work arrangements: opportunities and risks for sustainable communities

Abstract

Smart working is a new approach to work organization. Smart working does not only mean working remotely via ICT, as in teleworking, but above all, it means working according to new logic and approaches based on flexibility and autonomy in the choice of work space, time, and tools in a context of greater responsibility of workers for results. It represents a significant turning point in the organization of work as well as personal and family life, with cascading effects on the organization of more sustainable cities. The options of remote and smart working are presented, together with the opportunities and risks related to them. The chapter explains how smart working can play a role in supporting the new approach to the way cities and urban areas are designed and lived. In particular, it illustrates the relationship between smart working and models of mobility, the urban environment, territorial development, liveability, and socio-relational aspects in the perspective of intervention strategies toward greater sustainability of urban areas that include integrated and multi-sectoral territorial policies.