Coworking spaces: a way of promoting more sustainable mobility and lifestyles? The example of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France
Résumé
The results presented in this chapter show that the mobility and urban sustainability issues associated with the rise of CSs should not be reduced to the emergence of a new sustainable mobility solution destined to reduce commuting and hence transport-related CO2 emissions. CSs reflect the emergence of new lifestyles developed by highly qualified workers in areas with excellent amenities. Based on the combination of virtual, spatial and social mobility, CSs embody specific values at the environmental level (proximity/accessibility), the economic level (the meaning of work/networking) and the social level (sociability/quality of the living environment). Through their mastery of the three modes of distance management – co-presence, spatial mobility and virtual mobility - they are developing a new relationship with their area that is part of a network-based perception of space. CSs appear as a new kind of facility: hubs around which individuals organise their social and spatial networks.