Coworkers and coworking spaces as urban transformation actors. An Italian perspective

Over the past fifteen years, the rise and diffusion of coworking spaces worldwide have accompanied the labor market and the urban transformations. In the evolution, organization, and work environment of coworking spaces, we can see, therefore, the connection between the two realms, the evolution and changes in contemporary jobs on the one hand, and urban transformation, with the related urban regeneration effects (gentrification, etc.) on the other. Impinging on the results of a survey done in Italy, the chapter critically discusses the main lines of connection between the two questions and read the rise and diffusion of coworking spaces in this critical perspective. We will answer questions that concern the role of coworking spaces in the career of freelancers and creative professionals, in terms of the possibility to built ties with their coworkers, to form and strengthen communities of practice, but also to meet people with diverse skills and competences, and the perceived effects of this on their work.