21 The role of the office in city planning The importance of the office to sustainable urban planning is highly relevant and has a direct bearing on both the design and the joint utilisation of resources, among other things. There are two potential models here which are of particular interest – one is a dispersed office solution and the other is the location/design of office districts. In the interests of sustainability, urban planning today places much greater focus on the principle of proximity – and this can create the right conditions for a decentralised office, with office hubs and co-working spaces in the neighbourhood (see footnote Media2). A decentralised office set-up can also facilitate recruitment in organisations that choose this office solution while also reducing their exposure to risk. In contrast to the proximity principle of urban planning, we have the office district concept in which workplaces are gathered together on the fringes of the city. These districts are comprised primarily of office buildings with some restaurants and shops and only the occasional residential property. In some cases, these areas are adjacent to out-of-town shopping centres. One prediction for the future is that organisations located in office districts are going to find it difficult to attract employees to their offices as they can scarcely compete with the qualities offered by remote workplaces. Longer commutes by car, bus or train are perceived as negative, especially by employees who do not live on the same side of town. The inclusion of some housing to break the monotony of these districts can reduce the risk of the district going dead after six o´clock and may generate life and activity, potentially making the place more attractive. Shared office resources – sustainable and economic Issues of sustainability largely come down to the joint utilisation of resources – something which is also financially sustainable. Today, many lounge spaces, meeting and conference rooms go unused at our offices. These areas and their facilities can be shared with other organisations and groups, and even with individuals. This can occur outside of office hours – for example, they can be used as venues for courses much like how school classrooms, arts-andcrafts rooms and home-economics labs are used externally after school hours. Naturally the issue of security must be addressed here – and this is something that has become increasingly important in recent years. In our study, some organisations have begun to share resources in this way, and the potential is huge. Some also talk about remodelling and condensing existing meeting spaces in order to instead use resources in the city centre for larger meetings. “I believe in fewer resources and more sharing of what’s already there ... We have loads of meeting rooms, social spaces, cafeterias and break rooms that we can share without issue.” The predominant trend Despite efforts to outline future scenarios from a range of perspectives, I can confidently say that there is really only one clear trend in our study – that the future of working life will be characterised by an increased degree of remote working. This is a narrative we’ve been hearing since the pandemic restrictions were first repealed, but it is also what we can see from both our own data and that of others. Remote working will be high on the agenda when developing the offices of tomorrow. For even if many organisations may hope that remote working will prove a blip – at least to the extent it has a negative impact on the business – the reality is that remote working cannot be ignored. The reason for this, in my view, is that we have a general shortage of talent in the services sector, especially within professional domains such as engineering and IT development. It is also hard to roll benefits like remote working back once they have become established in society. It is for this reason I believe organisations will need to get on board and adapt to the new normal. It is better to embrace the reality and view it as an opportunity for greater flexibility in a changing world. For example, 2 Håkansson, J. (2023). Vägen mot en hållbar arbetsplats [The road to a sustainable workplace]. Nacka Kommun, https://www.foretagartraffen.se/vagen-mot-en-hallbar-arbetsplats.
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