The COVID-19 crisis precipitated the largest ever forced experiment in remote working. While predictions of the ‘death of the office’ were premature, a permanent shift towards increased remote working now seems likely. Coworking (shared flexible working spaces) grew exponentially prior to the pandemic, typically aimed at freelancers.
Although the crisis led to contraction, demand has increased as remote working levels remain higher. Nick's research employs occupational data from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) to calculate locality-based work from home scores within Wales, UK.
This is augmented by qualitative responses to Welsh Government’s own consultation on the provision of ‘remote working hubs’. Urban residents hold jobs most suited to remote work, followed by rural areas; former industrial regions the least. Remote workers are mostly employees in urban areas, but in rural areas, self-employed individuals dominate remote working.
This evidence improves understanding of the spatial implications of remote working and the potential for local coworking in community working hubs. This in turn has implications for infrastructure and future patterns of work, mobility and migration.
Speaker biography
Nick is Professor of Economic Geography & Regional Development at Cardiff Metropolitan University. His research interests lie in the fields of regional economics, small business and entrepreneurship, networks, business strategy, innovation, creativity, and circular economy.
He has published over 150 contributions to academic & policy debates, including over 50 scholarly articles. He has also received funding from Innovate UK, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Government, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCFW), Federation of Small Business (FSB), Research Councils UK, and the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA).
He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an affiliated member of the Centre for Innovation Research (CIRCLE) at Lund University, Sweden. He was elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2025. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Growth and Change: a journal of urban and regional policy.