Co-working spaces impact on CBD office spaces

The level of rents and property values play a major role in defining different types of urban structures. A central business district (CBD) is often associated with high rents and high property values and subsequently tall buildings are constructed in order to offset high land prices. The expansion of co-working space market seems to have impact on the traditional office markets that were mostly located in CBDs. An increase of co-working spaces and their locations might lead to less concentration of traditional office spaces in central locations and thus transformation of urban structures is expected. Most of the studies in the co-working spaces focus on productivity of users and flexibility of the shared working space but not on the long term consequence of dynamic impact of co-working spaces on the existing urban structure. The aim of this paper is to explore the transformation of urban structures triggered by the spread of co-working space in the Stockholm region. This study is mainly descriptive based on the data of recent development of co-working spaces and their locations. We will also complement our analysis with a case study and interviews of major actors in the office markets. We expect the rents and property values of existing locations will be affected by the concentration of co-working spaces in new urban areas. Subsequently, more segmented office markets with lower density can be expected to emerge in the long run.