Re-thinking the role of municipalities in mobility transitions: Co-working spaces in suburban and rural areas as a “new normal”

Abstract

The global COVID pandemic changed how we work. Telework has become the “new normal” in suburban and rural areas. National and regional transport policies have been using these new trends of work to address mobility problems and provide development of low-traffic cities and regions. Companies face the challenges to lead and coordinate teleworkers. Private providers now offer spatial concepts for telework such as co-working spaces in suburban and rural as well as urban areas. Moreover, less attention has been paid to the role municipalities play in adapting to the “new normal” of work in collaborating between stakeholders from different institutional spheres especially in suburban and rural areas. This study explores this lacuna by adopting a quadruple helix model. It integrates a focus group approach for qualitative data collection and uses two suburban cities in the Hannover region of Germany as a case study. The findings raise the question of how the role of municipalities can be strengthened to effectively adapt to a “new normal” of work in suburban and rural areas for the mobility transition. The study broadens the discussion about supporting the reduction of CO2 emissions from commuting through the implementation of co-working spaces in suburban and rural areas. Finally, a three-step collaborative innovation process is offered.