Stefano Di Vita (p), Simonetta Armondi , Corinna Morandi

Ilaria Mariotti

This paper aims at presenting some first outcomes of an ongoing research promoted within the Hub New urban Economies, Workplaces and Spaces (NEWS) of the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) at the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI). In particular, this paper focuses on the rapid emergence and spread of new ICT-based workplaces called Maker Spaces (MSs), which host digital manufacturing activities. Their growth is fast worldwide, in particular in some advanced economies’ countries such as Italy (Manzo, Ranella, 2015), which this research specifically deals with.
Whilst the MSs are more the object of political and media rhetoric (according to their potentials of regeneration), they demand for further scientific investigation, in order to better understand their economic performances, and their effects on the social and physical environment. Against this backdrop, the research promoted within the DAStU’s Hub NEWS at the POLIMI aims at making a significant contribution in the advancing of contemporary urban studies through an innovative empirical methodology:
i) the recognition of the literature framework concerning the MSs, in order to better define this phenomenon and to identify the current weaknesses in related research activities;
ii) the mapping of the Italian MSs, in order to detect the specificities of their geographies in relation to their productive, social and spatial contexts, as well as their location factors and relations with policy tools;
iii) the on-line survey addressed to the Italian MSs managers, in order to recognise the MSs typologies (i.e., private or public; business-oriented or social-oriented) and, consequently, explore their direct and indirect effects which, so far, are limited, are radically different and cannot be taken for granted;
iv) the zoom on some specific Italian areas where the MSs density is higher (i.e., dense urban areas such as the Milan urban region, or intensive manufacturing areas such as in the regions of the so-called Third Italy) through more detailed maps and econometric analysis, as well as specific interviews to makers, in order to better understand and assess their multi-scalar economic, social, and spatial relationships and effects.
On the one hand, this paper ends by reflecting about the existing multi-level public policies which, until now, have fragmentally supported the spread of these innovative workplaces. On the other, by suggesting policy goals, strategies and tools to consolidate this phenomenon and to improve its positive outcomes for the economy, society and physical environment.

Meltem Parlak, Tüzin Baycan (p)

Stefano Di Vita

Creative economy has a growing importance to the economy of many countries and cities. This profound change in the economy leads to changes in the workplace of cities and the way of operating a business. Creative hubs are emerged as a new form of workplace organization due to the needs of creative class and businesses in creative sectors. While creative hubs have an important role in the creative economy, these types of workplace organizations are rapidly growing around the globe. Governments, local authorities and decision makers increasingly support building of new creative hubs and make policies to foster these types of organisations. The emergence of creative hubs in Istanbul is also the result of this global phenomenon. The new form of these workplace organizations has emerged in the last fifteen years in Istanbul, but it has a rapid growth especially after 2012. This study investigates the rise of creative hubs in Istanbul. In order to understand the structure of creative hubs and identify the need for this type of workplace organization, a comprehensive field study has been conducted in Istanbul. 18 workplaces including co-working space, atelier, virtual office, serviced office models, and 18 incubation centers which are considered as creative hubs in Istanbul has been examined for this purpose. The structure of creative hubs and the service that they offer has been investigated by semi-structured interviews with hub leaders and direct observation of these places. The relationship between creative industry and creative hubs has been tried to find out. The users of creative hubs has been determined and the geographic location of these places has been mapped out. The sectors mostly involved in creative hubs has been specified and these sectors has been classified according to creative industry sub-sectors. While addressing two different aspects of the services offered by creative hubs: hard services such as physical facilities and soft services such as networking and supporting mechanisms, the study reveals the strong connection between creative industry and creative hubs. The results of the study highlight that creative class and creative industries especially micro SMEs prefer to place themselves in this type of new workplace organization because of not only physical facilities but also networking opportunities that these places offer them.

Carolina Pacchi , Ilaria Mariotti (p)

Tüzin Baycan

The late 2000s witnessed a wide diffusion of co-working spaces (CSs). CSs can bring several benefits to freelancers and independent workers, and they might occur because of geographical, social, organizational, institutional, or cognitive proximity a là Boschma (2005) among the coworkers. Such ‘internal’ benefits cannot be automatically transposed at the neighbourhood nor at the urban scale. The paper aims to explore, through descriptive statistics and econometric analysis, specific urban effects: from community building and the improvement of surrounding public space, to a wider urban revitalization. The analysis focuses on the CSs in Italy at the year 2017, and it is based on the results of a survey addressed to coworkers, and some empirical analysis of CSs in their urban environments. Three quarters of the 326 interviewed coworkers pointed out a positive impact of the CSs where they work on the urban and local contest, but differences arise according to the CS location (urban, suburban or peripheral areas), size, and sector specialization. It results that larger spaces, tend to show a more visible impact on the urban environment because they are more willing to host facilities open to the internal and/or external community (e.g., cafés and restaurants), they often organize events (e.g., meetings, exhibitions, seminars, or training courses), and tend to offer business discount schemes for coworkers in neighbourhood shops and services. Besides, in some specific cases, CSs located in peripheral areas have contributed to improve the safety of the neighbourhood. Nevertheless, the CSs sector specialization does not seem to produce significant impacts at local level.

Amnon Frenkel (p), Tsipi Buchnik

Stefano Di Vita

See Extended Abstract

Ilaria Mariotti (p), Ivana Pais

Amnon Frenkel

Coworking spaces (CSs) are emblematic examples of the transformation in the economy and in the world of labour of the last three decades. The phenomenon requires a systematic study of several important issues, especially relating to the socioeconomic dimension. One intriguing aspect of coworking is the sharing of common space; another is the sharing of social information among the coworking community. CSs bring different people together and allow them to communicate, share ideas and, sometimes, to work as a group. Consequently, these sites are idiosyncratic configurations that enable new forms of workplace interactions.
In the existing literature, little empirical evidence is available to assess whether CSs have positive implications on the participants’ performances. In order to assess this crucial aspect, the aim of the paper is to test whether productivity and income improve by learning processes and sharing of knowledge among coworking-users. To reach this goal, the results of an on-line questionnaire, addressed to the people working in the CSs (“coworkers”- CWs) in Italy, have been analysed by means of descriptive statistics and cluster analysis. The sample size of the first wave of responses was (327), and it approximately represents the distribution of CSs across geographical regions and cities.
The analysis revealed two groups of CWs -profiles: “relational” CWs (57.6%) and “peripheral” CWs (42,4%). Members of cluster 1 score highest on amount of professional relationship with other coworkers. They score highest (77,6%) on perceived level of collaboration with fellow CWs, and hold that being in a CS definitely allows them to get access to new information channels. Similarly, they strongly (91,7%) regard the CS as a site where to exchange knowledge, and establish informal bonds and friendship with other CWs. Most of them believe that CS has had a positive impact on their income, which has increased for 42,2% of them.
Cluster 2 shows quite an opposite trend. Its members are characterised by the lowest assessment of perceived advantages in developing professional relations with other CWS. Similarly, they moderately value (53%) the utility of professional relations in the CS, and show medium levels of collaboration with fellow CWs. Besides, they believe that CS has definitely not (38%) allowed them to get into new communication channels, whereas they still regard CWS as enabling them to exchange knowledge with others. Finally, the 65,2% has not perceived any increase in income, while less than 5% believe CS had a negative impact on income.